Law and Empire in Late Antiquity [Hardcover]

The first systematic historical treatment in English of public law in the later Roman Empire.Law and Empire is the first systematic treatment in English by an historian of the nature, aims and efficacy of public law in the society of the Later Roman Empire. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the author offers new interpretations of central issues in the study of Roman law--what it was and how effective; contemporary attitudes to torture and punishment; judicial corruption; and the settlement of disputes.Law and Empire is the first systematic treatment in English by an historian of the nature, aims and efficacy of public law in the society of the Later Roman Empire. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the author offers new interpretations of central issues in the study of Roman law--what it was and how effective; contemporary attitudes to torture and punishment; judicial corruption; and the settlement of disputes.Law and Empire is the first systematic treatment in English by a historian of the nature, aims and efficacy of public law in the society of the Later Roman Empire. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the author offers new interpretations of central issues in the study of Roman law--what it was and how effective: contemporary attitudes to torture and punishment, judicial corruption, and the settlement of disputes.1. The law of Late Antiquity; 2. Making the law; 3. The construction of authority; 4. The efficacy of law; 5. In court; 6. Crime and the problem of pain; 7. Punishment; 8. The corrupt judge; 9. Dispute settlement I: out of court; 10. Dispute settlement II: episcopalis audientia; Conclusion. It is scarcely possible to do justice in so small a space to the wealth and complexity and Harries's erudite and the wealth and complexity of Harries's erudite and provocative book. For anyone interested in social relations; cultures of codification; legal anthropology; networking; governmental power, authority, and its limits; and in the administratilsy