the justice of constantine LAW AND SOCIETY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD SERIES EDITORS: Dennis P. Kehoe, Tulane University Cynthia J. Bannon, Indiana University Matthew R. Christ, Indiana University The study of law in ancient societies has a distinguished tradition in both Anglo- American and continental scholarship. Many of our fundamental ideas about ancient society were built on research into legal sources. These traditions continue to provide a foundation for newer approaches to law and society. More recent scholarship draws on a range of methodologies to analyze legal practices, including critical legal studies, sociology of law, economics, and literary criticism. This series, distinguished by its emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to law and society, seeks out innovative approaches to ancient legal studies that bring new perspectives to legal topics as well as to broader questions concerning the impact of law on commercial, political, and cultural practices in the ancient world. The Justice of Constantine Law, Communication, and Control John Noël Dillon the university of michigan press ann arbor Copyright © 2012by John Noël Dillon All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America cPrinted on acid-free paper 2015 2014 2013 2012 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dillon, John Noel. The justice of Constantine : law, communication, and control / John Noel Dillon. p. cm. — (Law and society in the ancient world) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-472-11829-8 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-472-02838-2 (e-book) 1. Roman law—Sources. 2. Roman law—History. 3. Roman law—History—Sources. 4. Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, d. 337. 5. Rome—History—Constantine I, the Great, 306–337. 6. Rome—History—Constantine I, the Great, 306–337—Sources. 7. Justice, Administration of (Roman law)—History. I. Title. KJA395.D 2012 340.5'4—dc23 2012005025 i dedicate this book to my grandparents: john and margaret dillon and robert and marguerite cartier Preface The present book is the revision, largely accomplished in Heidelberg, Ger- many, of my doctoral dissertation, “The Legislation of Constantine the Great: Justice, Administration, and Reform,” which I submitted at Yale Uni- versity in October 2008. I was blessed to call the Yale Department of Clas- sics my academic home, and I am profoundly grateful to Yale University for supporting my graduate education. I owe special thanks to John Matthews, my dissertation advisor, who brought me to the world of Late Antiquity. The choice of the subject of this book resulted from the coincidence of my interest in Roman law and government, his expertise in the vibrant field of Late Antiquity, and the irresistible draw of Constantine himself. I realized only later, when well into the project, that the 1,700-year jubilee of Con- stantine’s elevation to emperor was imminent. I am grateful to all my friends at Yale, Heidelberg, and beyond, who have helped me reach this point. It is my honor to thank the Fulbright Pro- gram of the United States Department of State for sponsoring my first year of research, at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, from 2005 to 2006. I am indebted to Jens Uwe-Krause at the Historisches Seminar, who supported my Fulbright application, encouraged my work, and acted as my Ersatzdoktorvater during my stay; and to Alfons Bürge and his colleagues at the Leopold-Wenger-Institut für Rechtsgeschichte, who took me in as one of their own. Munich still holds a special place in my heart. I am moreover grateful to the Mrs. Gales Whiting Foundation for the generous funding I received while finishing my dissertation, 2007–2008. It is humbling to think of all those who have helped me complete this book. First of all, I thank the readers of my dissertation: Bill Metcalf, Michael Peachin, and Anders Winroth. I owe a special debt to Claudia Kreuzsaler. I further thank fellow Yale students Felix Racine and Tristan Taylor, whose advice and insights, and even patience, bore me up as I strug- gled to write a μέγα βιβλίον that was not a μέγα κακόν. Heidelberg was an ideal place for revising the work and preparing it for publication. I am grateful to the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissen - schaften, which sponsored my current research project on the Roman Re- public in the WIN-Kolleg “Raumordnung, Norm und Recht in historischen Kulturen Europas und Asiens” and enabled me to live and work in Heidel- berg. I moreover wish to express my gratitude to Kai Trampedach and Christian Witschel, under whose auspices I worked as a postdoc in the out- standing Seminar für Alte Geschichte und Epigraphik in Heidelberg. I am happy to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I owe Ted Lendon, whose com- ments and criticism of my work we often discussed at the Heidelberg Mensa. Johannes Wienand, Harold Drake, and Noel Lenski each read the manuscript; their comments and criticism have been very valuable. I am particularly grateful to Alexandra Eppinger, who generously helped check and chase stray references in Heidelberg. Ellen Baurlee and Mary Hashman at the University of Michigan Press have been wonderful guides through the publication of my first book. Yii-Jan Lin has done more than her fair share of reading, discussing, and commenting both on the dissertation and on its revision; I owe it to her if I have become a smarter reader and a bet- ter scholar. Finally, and above all, I thank my friend and colleague, Sebas - tian Schmidt-Hofner, who patiently read and commented on the entire text and gladly discussed with me the most diverse historical questions. His thoughts and advice have been invaluable. To my parents, John and Mary Ellen Dillon, I owe everything. Contents List of Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1. The Sources and the Codex Theodosianus 12 2. Formal Characteristics of the Legislation of Constantine 35 3. Changes in Legislation from Diocletian to Constantine 60 4. The Propagation of Justice 90 5. Constantine and the Provincials 119 6. Constantine and the Imperial Bureaucracy 156 7. Control and Consultation: Breves, Relationes, Consultationes 192 8. Appellatio 214 Conclusion 251 Works Cited 259 Index Locorum 277 General Index 285