The most holy emperor justinian. Second edition

23. The Same Emperor.

We order that no one—no matter to what organization he may belong, what office he may hold, what military rank he may have, or what his status may be, throughout the entire region of the East, and

regardless of the reason for his journey, or his return—shall employ more than one horse either belonging to the Government or to himself, even if the judge has permitted him to take more than one, unless a special permit has been granted by Us, setting forth the number of animals which he shall be entitled to use; those, however, undoubtedly being excepted who are engaged in transporting the public money; for, in this instance, it is proper that as many animals be furnished, without Our express authority, as may be required for the transport and protection of the coin; and anyone who, at any time or in any way, violates Our commands, or permits them to be violated, shall be condemned to pay a fine of fifty pounds of gold.

TITLE LII. CONCERNING DRIVERS AND STATIONS.

1. The Emperor Constantine.

Drivers of post-horses are only entitled to two days, in addition to the ordinary delays, at the different stations, and no longer time shall be granted to anyone, even if he is accompanied by necessary persons, unless he is one of those who have charge of animals and horses intended for the use of the Emperor; so that, after having been sent back to the Organization of Drivers, he can be allotted the number of five days, and no one shall have authority to remain beyond that period of time in any place that he pleases.<sup>1

1</sup> It was not until the foundation of the Empire that a regular, systematic postal service was established by the Romans. During the existence of the Republic, special messengers were employed as occasion required, whenever it was found necessary to communicate with military commanders, government officials, or foreign potentates. No private individual could, in those early times, make use of the post, except by permission of the authorities, and, under the Empire, this privilege became still more difficult to secure, and was only obtainable by the written consent of the Emperor himself. To Augustus is due the credit of the organization of the postal system which, facilitating and maintaining intercourse with the most distant provinces and cities, was one of the greatest and most important factors of Roman civilization. It was, first and last, a purely official institution, designed to inform the sovereign at the Capital of what transpired everywhere throughout his dominions, in order that he might, at all times, and especially in cases of emergency, provide for his own security and the continuance of his power. Post-houses were established at frequent intervals where young men of approved intelligence and activity were stationed, charged with the care of horses and vehicles, as well as with the speedy transmission of despatches, and the expediting of officials, whose duties carried them either to Rome, or compelled them to journey to the frontiers of the Empire. Suetonius refers to the organization of the postal service by Augustus as follows: "Et quo celerius ac sub manum annunciare cognoscique posset, quid in provincia quaque gereretur, juvenes prima modicis intervallis per mttitares vias, dehinc vehicula, disposuit." (De Vita Ceesarum, Octav, August, XLIX.)

Inspectors, styled euriosi, were appointed in every province, whose duty it was to see that supplies were furnished, animals provided, and every facility afforded government officials in the prosecution of their public errands. Forty horses were ordinarily allotted to a station, and so excellently and thoroughly was the service managed that, in case of necessity, nearly two hundred miles could be traversed

TITLE LIII.

CONCERNING THE SUBORDINATES OF THE PRAETORIAN PREFECTS AND THEIR PRIVILEGES.

1. The Emperor Leo.

We desire that the officials of the Prefecture who retire every year shall do Us homage after their terms have expired; and when they have done so, We grant them the right to enjoy repose, so that they shall not be compelled to accept any office or employment of any description whatever.

2. The Same Emperors.

We forbid the subordinates of praetorian prefects to interfere with the collection of taxes in the provinces, to the injury of the people, or for their own advantage; and, moreover, We do not allow them to act as guards of warehouses, or to assume any of the rights or authority of the curias. If one of them should be so rash as to violate the present

in a day; the accomplishment of one hundred, a great distance in those times, was not an unusual performance. A judge or proconsul, travelling post, could calculate, within an hour, when he would arrive at his destination.

The military roads of the Romans have no counterpart in works constructed for this purpose anywhere, at the present day. Of more than a yard in thickness, and composed of alternate layers of concrete, cement, and stone, they seem to have been built for eternity. They were fourteen or fifteen feet wide, and, in the time of the Antonines, were three hundred and seventy-two in number, aggregating more than sixty-four thousand miles. The cost of construction has been estimated by competent authority at about a billion and a half dollars. These roads were laid out in perfectly straight lines, when this was at all practicable, without taking into consideration any natural obstacles that might be encountered: ascending mountain summits, crossing wide and treacherous streams by means of massive bridges, and traversing deserts to which building materials had to be transported from great distances. Under the Republic, the censors, who were the directors of public works, had control of the highways; but during the Imperial era, their charge was committed to officials designated curatores viarum, who were held responsible for the repair and preservation of these all-important means of communication, upon which depended the safety and integrity of the Empire.

The post of the Romans being, to all intents and purposes, restricted to the use and convenience of the government, bears little analogy to the extensive and vastly complicated mailing systems of the present age. The monopoly of this method of receiving and transmitting intelligence gave the Emperor an enormous advantage, equal, if not superior, to the control of the army. By means of it the administration of government was thoroughly centralized; information of the presence of an enemy, or the existence of rebellion, became known to the capital almost immediately; new laws were published in the most remote provinces a few hours after their enactment; and the subjects and tributaries of the Empire were made acquainted with any important or even trivial events transpiring in the Eternal City. In order to foster this interchange of communication, news-letters, or journals, called acta, issued under government supervision, were regularly despatched and distributed. The effect of these measures upon the promotion of national unity and pride, upon the education of all classes, upon the increase and security of commercial transactions, and the consequent prosperity and happiness of the people in general, may readily be imagined. No institution of Roman genius did more for mankind than the establishment of the Imperial postal-service, originally established, and subsequently perpetuated in the interest of despotism.—ED.

law, We wish him to be subjected to a penalty in proportion to the gravity of his offence.

3. The Emperor Anastasius.

The officers of the Praetorian Prefect, his principal secretaries and accountants, in addition to all those who, in the office of Your Highness and in the course of the performance of their military duties, desire to rest from their labors shall, by way of reward for the many hardships endured for the State, always be exempt from every civil or military tax, and be subject to the jurisdiction of civil judges, and not to that of those belonging to the army.

We decree that the following provision shall be added to this law, namely: that if any officer attached to the Prefecture should, either while he is in active service, or after he has retired, die without making a properly executed will, and leave no legal heirs, his entire estate shall not escheat to the Imperial Treasury, but can be claimed by the treasurers of Your Highness. We concede to your secretaries and collectors, as well as to all other persons attached to your office, who serve in Our First Legion, the right to a hearing, solely in cases where proceedings have been brought against them. We order that those who reside in the provinces shall, however, only answer before the Governors, unless the performance of some public duty has been imposed upon them.

TITLE LIV.

CONCERNING THE ATTENDANTS OF THE PREFECT OF THE

CITY.

1. The Emperors Oration, Valentinian, and Theodosius.

No one, with the exception of those belonging to the retinue of eminent officials having charge of the collection of taxes, of posts, and of the Urban Prefecture, shall be permitted each year to appear before the Emperor and render his homage. None of the incumbents of office in the provinces shall have the right to come before the Emperor and adore him, and all privileges of this kind are hereby abolished.

2. The Emperors Arcadius and Honorius.

Any attendant of the Illustrious Prefecture of the City who has, by fraud, deceived the baker of the palace, shall, after having been accused and convicted, remain forever attached to the Organization oi Bakers.

TITLE LV.

CONCERNING THE STAFF OFFICERS OR GENERALS AND

THEIR PRIVILEGES.

1. The Emperors Valens, Valentinian, and Gratian. Those who hold the offices of generals of cavalry and infantry are released from the responsibility of any appointment.

2. The Emperors Theodosii and Valentinian.

Those who, while discharging the duties of generals of cavalry or infantry, have drawn any office by lot, shall be considered members of the Military Order.

3. The Emperor Martian.

We do not wish the attendants attached to the offices of magistrates, or members of curise or cohorts, to be enrolled for service in the Census.

4. The Same Emperor.

We decree that persons having charge of the accounts of generals, whether they are attached to the immediate service of the Emperor, or are serving in the East, and who have been admitted to the privileges and receive the pay of soldiers, when they retire from office, shall live with the praetorian tribunes of the Military Order, and be treated by them with the respect to which they are entitled by their labors; so that, after the ranks of the army are complete, they may be exempt from all contributions, as well as from all military and civil duties. We wish that those of them who occupy the highest positions shall rank with the military tribunes of the guards.

5. The Emperor Zeno.

We order that those under your command (provided they are registered among the number established by law) shall enjoy the prescription of the bar, but that those who are above this number, and are regarded as not included in the military service, shall be excluded, and assigned to the Illustrious Prefecture, and the distinguished Governors of the provinces, without being allowed to avail themselves of this prescription, which is the peculiar privilege of soldiers.

TITLE LVI.

CONCERNING THE ATTENDANTS OF THE PROCONSUL AND THE LIEUTENANT OF THE EMPEROR.

1. The Emperor Constantine.

We do not wish any decurions, or members of some other body, to be attached to your office, and if there should be any of these acting as your attendants, We order that they shall be immediately restored to the duties which they are required to perform.

2. The Emperors Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian.

We are of the opinion that four hundred deputies should be set apart for the service of your office from among those against whom no complaint can be made by any member of the Government.

3. The Emperors Arcadius and Honorius.

In any province where there is a proconsul, his duty requires him to perform those functions which are customary, and not insolently interfere with other matters.

TITLE LVIL

CONCERNING THE ATTENDANTS OF THE COUNT OF THE

EAST.

1. The Emperor Zeno.

Not more than six hundred attendants shall be attached to the office of Count of the East, which number We are satisfied will be sufficient for the requirements of the public.

TITLE LVIII.

CONCERNING THE ATTENDANTS ATTACHED TO THE

COHORTS OF PRINCES AND THEIR CORNICULARII AND

PRIMIPILARII.

1. The Emperor Constantine.

Soldiers stationed in garrisons shall not venture to extort more taxes than are due, nor put anyone into prison, nor, themselves, keep anyone in custody, even though he may be clearly guilty of crime. Anyone who commits an offence of this kind is hereby notified that he will be punished with death.

2. The Emperors Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius.

No judge shall presume to try or convict anyone, unless evidence is given under oath. We, however, except those who have charge of the public post in the provinces, for the general welfare does not permit assistance to be refused in a service of such importance.

3. The Same Emperors.

We also extend to ordinary privileges which were granted by the Emperor Diocletian to the cohortals of Syria, and We order that they shall not be required to transport necessary supplies for either the army or navy, and that they shall not be inscribed upon the registers of the curise without their consent. When, however, their military service has expired, and the duties of the Chief Centurion properly discharged, We grant them the right of exemption.

4. The Same Emperors.

We desire that the subordinates of the Governors of the provinces subject to your authority shall be notified that, after having been installed in their offices, or accepted in the name of the cohorts or legions, they shall be entitled to all privileges.

5. The Same Emperors.

Any centurion in Osroena, who rejoices in the possession of a large number of sons, can appoint one of them to his place, as succeeding to it by hereditary right; and, by way of showing his devotion to his country, he can place another in the curia of ^desena, and pro-

vide for the others in any way that he may desire. If, however, he should only have two sons, he will be compelled to satisfy the cohort and the curia. Where he has only one, he must restore him to the Order of his country, and no privilege will avail against this rule. Hence We grant authority to their fathers, as well as to those who, by the terms of this law, are placed under the control of municipalities, to produce any members of a curia found to be exempt through the indulgence of princes, in order that they themselves, having been designated for the discharge of the same duties, may be compelled to perform them.

6. The Emperors Honorius and Theodosius.

If an official subordinate, after having committed a crime, should take to flight, the edict by which he can be recalled must be complied with, under the condition prescribed by the laws; and if he does not appear, the court shall pass sentence upon him as a fugitive from justice, according to the nature of his offence. We do not grant pardons for crimes of this kind, nor do We remove them by indulgences.

7. The Emperor Theodosius.

The attendants of ordinary judges, who have attained the rank of investigators, or continue in their employments, cannot be discharged on account of age or length of service, before they have rendered their accounts. And if, before the account has been submitted, he who is liable should think that he is entitled to dismissal on account of some corporeal disease, or extreme old age, he shall not obtain it before paying everything due to the centurion.

Moreover, We desire that those who have been dishonorably discharged on account of the commission of crime shall not, under such circumstances, be permitted to retain their peculium, but shall be subjected to condign punishment, so that none of their property shall be removed from the office to which they are attached, which rule shall apply to the smallest company of the army.

8. The Emperor Valentinian.

In appraising different kinds of military supplies, the same rule shall be observed with reference to their price as applies to the same articles when exposed to public sale.

9. The Same Emperor.

A hundred attendants shall be attached to the office of each magistrate in Illyria (in which province the necessaries of the public welfare especially demand that employments be granted to the subordinates of Governors) but, in excess of this number, no person shall aspire to this military rank or remain in it with the connivance of judges. Again, those who are summoned to the performance of functions of this kind should not be such as may attempt to obtain extraordinary profits under the empty name of military service, but those who will discharge their official duties with proper care and diligence.

10. The Same Emperor.

Anyone who desires to take charge of the papers or registers, or obtain any other office in the cohorts, shall not be permitted to do so until his name has first been entered upon the records; and the penalty already prescribed shall be imposed upon those who think that, contrary to the Imperial enactments, any persons can be accepted, or any office whatsoever can be bestowed upon them.

11. The Emperor Leo.

When anyone, belonging to the cohorts, has been dismissed from the service on account of prosecution for crime, or for idleness, if, after having solicited forgiveness, he should desire to be reinstated in his former position, he shall be required to present to Your Highness a pardon granted by the Emperor.

12. The Emperor Zeno.

If the attendant of a cohort, or anyone attached to the same, should aspire to some dignity, he shall be deprived of all the insignia of the honor which he has obtained, and reduced to his former status. Any children born to him while in this condition will share the fortune of their father.

(1) If one of them should presume to aspire to military service, he cannot take advantage of any prescription of time, except that based upon the lapse of thirty years, but he shall be restored to his former status; nor shall he, or his children born afterwards, be permitted to refuse to pay what is due to the cohort.

(2) But in order that the attendant of a cohort, or his son, may not venture to aspire to another position, the example of his ancestors shall present an insuperable obstacle.

(3) Moreover, We order that all those who are engaged in different kinds of trade, as, for instance, money-brokers, jewelers, vendors of silverware and clothing, apothecaries, and others dealing in various articles of merchandise, or who have warehouses, shall be exempt from provincial employments, in order that all honor and military service may be free from contagion of this description.

13. The Same Emperor.

We do not permit any centurion, or other officer attached to the Imperial bodyguard, to aspire to any other military place or civil occupation contrary to the public welfare, or to any other dignity to the prejudice of his former status. If anyone should be so audacious as to violate this most salutary law, or any Imperial edict to this effect, his act shall be considered as not having taken place, even though he may have obtained the position through a special display of Our indulgence, and We order that, without notifying him who, by the practice of the above-mentioned arts, has attempted to evade the duties which he owes to the public, he shall be immediately delivered up to the city from whence he came.

14. The Emperor Anastasius.

Anyone who, up to this time, has been obliged to discharge official duties in the cohorts, or was attached to the government of the province, or to any other branch of the military service, or has been raised to any dignity whatsoever shall, by no means, be permitted to enjoy the advantages which he has usurped and obtained contrary to law, even though he may be able to boast that the right to administer the affairs of a province, or of some command in the army, or of any other office whatsoever, has been bestowed upon him by a voluntary act of Our liberality. Henceforth, being deprived of all the benefits of the condition which he despised, he will not be able to acquire any of them either himself, or through the intervention of others, but will only be compelled to discharge the duties of a centurion ; and, from that time during the remainder of his life, he shall be obliged to perform the functions as a member of the curia of the city in which he was born, so that those who, after having aspired to any kind of military employment, or other office, after having completed their term of service in the army, must be restored to their native curia.

TITLE LIX.

CONCERNING THE ATTENDANTS OF THE PREFECT OF SUBSISTENCE.

1. The Emperor Antoninus.

The subordinate officials of the Urban Prefecture must not interfere with matters relative to subsistence, but the duties of the Prefecture of Subsistence shall be performed by means of the secret emulation of its attaches.

2. The Emperor Constantine.

The Prefect of Subsistence must collect the taxes required of his office by the instrumentality of his attendants, and, together with his subordinates, will be responsible for the exaction of the requisite contributions.

TITLE LX.

CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT OFFICIALS AND ATTENDANTS OF JUDGES, AND THEIR PREROGATIVES.

1. The Emperor Constantius.

When the Praetorian Prefect, his deputy, or the Governor of a province, notifies anyone having charge of the public documents or records that he has been transferred to other duties in the camp or in the army, someone must be appointed to whom he can render his accounts, and he who is assigned to his place should preferably be a person eminently worthy of distinction.

2. The Same Emperor.

None of those who have been dishonorably discharged from the army can again aspire to a place to which they are not entitled, without the consent of the Emperor. If anyone should fraudulently obtain such a place, he shall be fined five pounds of gold.

3. The Emperor Justinian.

No attendant of Your Highness, nor anyone attached to the office of the palace shall, under the pretext of the public welfare, transact the business of a private individual in the same province in which he was born, or in which he resides, or where he has already discharged the duties of an employment of this kind. If this rule should be rashly violated, it will be the duty of the First Secretary of Your Highness to impose a fine of three pounds of gold upon the culprit, for the benefit of the Treasury. Moreover, any attendant who permits himself to be appointed to such a position shall be dismissed from the army. This penalty shall also be inflicted upon others, for instance, where a domestic, a protector, an attendant, or an agent for the transaction of business, or the employee of any office of the palace, persists in an usurpation of this kind in the same province in which he was born, or in that where he has established his domicile, and his name shall be stricken from the rolls; and he who allows himself to hold such an office shall be compelled to pay a pound of gold to the Treasury. Your subordinates, and the accountants and notaries of Palatines and counts, shall pay a pound of gold to the Treasury, unless what has been enacted is observed.