06-05-2013, 07:54 PM
Quote:does this mean that the Costitutio Antoniniana with one hand gave the citizenship to most of the people of the Empire but, with the other one, permitted the use of torture on the very same citizens?
Caracalla wasn't the pleasantest of people, but his edict wasn't explicitly to make everyone torturable - more taxable! I'm not sure what the process was (it seems very complex and legalistic), but the division between different classes of citizen seems to have come into effect during the third century - it was probably around before that, but after everyone became a citizen in 212 it had a lot more legal impact.
Essentially, as I understand it, honestiores (the rich, the aristocracy, soldiers and civil servants) were still legally immune from torture, and even from prosecution for some crimes. The rest of society (the humiliores) had their rights steadily eroded until their legal status was little better than slaves - they could be tortured, publically beaten with rods, executed etc. Laws of Constantine preserved in the Theodosian code openly state that those of 'honourable rank' should be 'protected from such outrages'. So there literally was one law for the rich and another for the poor!
Someone with some grounding in Roman law could probably give further detail about when and how this change occured... I'd be interested to know more myself.
Nathan Ross
