Lives Behind the Laws

<p>In this exploration of the administration of law and its role in the lives of ordinary people in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire Serena Connolly draws upon a rich but little-known legal collection from the late 3rd century known as the <i>Codex Hermogenianus. </i>The codex is composed of imperial responses to petitions sent to Rome written by a team of the emperor's legal experts. These petitions and responses provide a wealth of information about provincial legal administration and the lives of the non-elite petitioners. The man who prostituted his wife the mother whose malicious son undersold her farm and the slaves who posed as free men to get a loan are just a few of the lives to encounter. <i>Lives behind the Laws</i> makes a valuable contribution to Roman social political and legal history.</p>