(a) Roman Monarchy: Period of the Kings (753 BCE – 510 BCE)According to tradition the Romans founded the city of Rome in Italy in 753 BCE. Rome today is stillthe capital of Italy. During this period seven kings reigned over the Romans, who were primitive2/25/22, 1:58 PM Beginner's Guide for Law Studentshttps://web-s-ebscohost-com.ukzn.idm.oclc.org/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzI1MjQwODJfX0FO0?sid=56f8b898-fd20-45f9-90a2-4e7b2… 5/18•••farmers living according to unwritten customs which were passed down from generation togeneration. Religious rules formed part of the law.(b) Roman Republic (510 BCE – 27 BCE)The despotic behaviour of the last king eventually resulted in his being driven from Rome in 510BCE. A new constitutional order, the Republic, was installed. It consisted of three components:two executive officials (magistrates), known as consuls, who replaced the king;the popular assembly (the assembly of the people) which passed legislation; andthe senate, an advisory body. The resolutions of the senate were in theory only advisorybut were followed as if they had the force of law.Early in the Republic, in 450 BCE, Roman law was codified for the first time in the Law of theTwelve Tables. This first written account of the law was passed by the popular assembly aslegislation and contained primitive rules suitable for a primitive society. It stipulated, for example,that a debtor who could not pay his debts could be killed and that his creditors could each obtain apart of the body. In the Twelve Tables law and religion were separated. The Twelve Tables alsomade the law more accessible to the citizens of Rome and brought about some degree of certaintyabout what the law was.During the period of the Republic, Roman society experienced enormous growth anddevelopment. The Romans began to conquer the whole of Italy and large parts of the rest ofEurope. Their success led to the creation of the Roman Empire, which eventually included thewhole of Western Europe, parts of Asia Minor, North Africa and also parts of Britain.At the same time, Roman society became more sophisticated and the contact with other nationsbrought about an expansion in trade. The law obviously also had to develop and adapt in order toaccommodate thePage 34changing needs of society. Because of the flourishing trade, a number of rules for the contract ofsale were created during this time. These rules still apply in present-day South African law.Special officials (magistrates) were appointed, called the praetores, who had the responsibilityof developing the law. They laid down legal rules in edicts which were then promulgated.This development of the law, in turn, gave rise to a class of people known as the jurists, whoundertook the study of law in a scientific manner.(c) Roman Empire (27 BCE – 1453 CE)Eventually (in 27 BCE), the Republic made way for a new constitutional dispensation, called theEmpire, during which the Romans were governed by emperors. The popular assembly, the senateand the republican magistrates gradually lost their importance as all the power was now centred inthe hands of the emperors. The emperors assumed the function of the popular assembly, andpersonally began to promulgate imperial legislation.During the first two centuries CE the Roman civilization and culture, as well as the expandedRoman Empire, reached their ‘highest’ state of development. Law, too, reached its pinnacle,largely through the efforts of the jurists. Famous jurists during this time — sometimes called ‘TheGreat Five Roman Jurists’ — were Gaius, Ulpianus, Modestinus, Papinianus, and Paulus. Theirapproach to law as a sophisticated legal science and their extensive writings ensured its growthand development. In fact, Roman law of this period is usually referred to as ‘classical Romanlaw’. After this period Roman law was, in general, characterised by decline and retrogression.Never again would it aspire to the heights of the classical Roman law period.At the end of the fourth century CE the Roman Empire split into two: the Western RomanEmpire with Rome as its capital and the Eastern Roman Empire (also called the Byzantine Empire)with Byzantium (also then known as Constantinople; today Istanbul in Turkey) as its capital.Eventually the centre of the Empire shifted to Byzantium. During this period the Christian religionwas accepted as state religion and began to exert a marked influence on the law. For example, theinstitution of marriage was now founded on Christian principles.The Western Roman Empire was gradually overrun by Germanic tribes and in 476 CE aGermanic ruler ascended the throne in Rome.Page 352/25/22, 1:58 PM Beginner's Guide for Law Studentshttps://web-s-ebscohost-com.ukzn.idm.oclc.org/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzI1MjQwODJfX0FO0?sid=56f8b898-fd20-45f9-90a2-4e7b2… 6/18••••••••••This event is usually referred to as ‘the fall of the Roman Empire’. The Romans were now subjectedto Germanic rule and the Germanic peoples had their own law. This Roman-Germanic societyassumed its own character, which differed from that of the Roman society of classical times.Classical Roman law was, accordingly, watered down, simplified and became infiltrated byGermanic law.Roman law survived more successfully in the Eastern Roman Empire than in the West. TheEmperor Justinian ruled in Byzantium from 527 to 565 CE. By this time, Roman law, despite itsadvanced development, was almost impossible to access or retrieve. Over the centuries thedifferent ruling dispensations with their different legal sources had left a chaotic legacy for thoseresponsible for the application of the law. There was no systematic and up-to-date statement ofthe law. The law was to be found in the following sources:customary law;legislation of the popular assembly (also the Law of the Twelve Tables);enactments of the senate;edicts of the republican magistrates such as the praetores;writings of the jurists;imperial legislation (legislation passed by the Emperors).Justinian wanted to bring order and decided to codify Roman law as a whole. He wanted to provideone final and primary source of law in which all the answers to legal problems could be found. Thiscodification of Justinian is known as the Corpus Iuris Civilis. It is an enormous work whichconsists of four parts:The Institutiones is a textbook for law students that explains the law simply and clearly.The Digesta is a codification of the works of the Roman jurists. It forms the largest andmost important part of the Corpus Iuris, and is a collection of the opinions of Roman juristswho wrote on all the sources of Roman law.The Codex is a collection of imperial legislation.The Novellae is new legislation passed by Justinian, which he promulgated after theformation of the Codex. Justinian accepted the non-static nature of law and its need forconstant development and adaptation in line with societal changes. He embodied thesedevelopments in new legislation.Page 36Figure 2.2Roman law thus took on its final form in Justinian’s Corpus Iuris Civilis in the sixth century. As setout in the Corpus Iuris, Roman law is a sophisticated legal science notable for its aspirationstowards justice and its regulation of relationships between individuals according to the principles offairness and good faith. It is this source that we mostly consult today in order to find Roman law.After the death of Justinian, his Corpus Iuris, ironically enough, had little influence in the West,where the Romans and the Germanic tribes lived according to Germanic law and simplified Romanlaw. In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Corpus Iuris soon became simplified, and it was neverapplied in practice in the manner intended by Justinian. The Eastern Roman Empire existed until1453, when it was conquered by the Turks.The following questions now arise: How did Roman law become merged with Dutch law, so thatRoman-Dutch law came into existence? Why is modern law worldwide, and in South African inparticular, still influenced by Roman law? The answers to these questions lie in what is called the‘reception’ of Roman law.