Promulgate the Justinian code
The Roman region has always been known for its sound laws in history. Twelve bronze tables, civil law and civil law are all respected by later generations, while Gregory Code, Harmonia Code and Sidious Code have a long history and extend in all directions. However, the most respected work in later generations is the Complete Collection of National Laws (also known as the Complete Collection of Civil Laws), which is called the foundation work of western laws.
On February 28, A.D. 13, Justinian ascended the throne, and convened ten famous jurists to form a law compilation committee, which was chaired by John, the former judicial chief (that is, the person who was dismissed in the "Carney" uprising).
In 529 AD, the law collection "Justinian Code" came into effect, and all the old laws were abolished. In 533 AD, 165438+ 10, according to the works of Gaius, one of the five greatest jurists in Rome, The Ladder of Law and the Common Law, combined with the spirit of other famous jurists such as Bo Bignian, the Ladder of Law was compiled and published for use.
In 533 AD 65438+February, another outstanding legal work of Justinian period, The Collection of Laws, was published. This book was compiled by more than 30 jurists for three years, and collected 2,000 volumes of 3 million laws of 38 famous jurists from the end of BC/kloc-0 to the beginning of the 4th century, among which 9200 paragraphs of volume 1 625 were selected, accounting for150,000 laws.
The vastness of the "project" amazed future generations.
Imperial edicts is the last legal work written in Latin in the Eastern Roman Empire.
After completing the compilation of the above three codes, Justinian ordered that all the works of jurists of past dynasties that were not included in the code be invalidated, and ordered that all the works of jurists of past dynasties collected by Terry Bunyan when compiling Lun Ji be burned. At the same time, it is ordered that the interpretation right of relevant laws belongs to the emperor alone! This part of the interpretation of the law was later included.
The new law was promulgated after Justinian's death. Most of the contents of the new law belong to the norms of public law and church law. In private law, it is mainly about marriage law and inheritance law. For the convenience of research, later scholars collectively referred to Justinian Code, Justinian Law Ladder, Doctrine Collection and New Law as National Law or Civil Law. It preserved and developed Rome's creative achievements in jurisprudence, and became the main basis for establishing legal systems in many countries in continental Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. Compared with the common law system of English-speaking countries, later generations recognized that "no code has such a lasting impact on the world".
Justinian himself is immortal because of the Complete Collection of National Laws, which is the most complete written code of slavery in history. Although he fought all his life, his greatest contribution to history was obviously not the battle itself, but the Complete Collection of National Laws, which made him "famous in the world". To this end, he was included in the list of 100 celebrities who influenced the course of human history.
Historical evaluation
Justinian I was the most important ruler at the end of the Greco-Roman era, and his rule was generally regarded as an important transitional period from the Eastern Roman Empire to the Byzantine Empire in history. For example, in 542, he abolished the consul, an official post left by the Roman Republic (probably for cost reasons). He also strengthened the position of the emperor as the representative of God on the earth, and completely destroyed the image of the emperor as the CEO and the "father of the country" of the Roman Empire. But the historian Procopius has made a profound criticism of Justinian I's policies. Procopius' works are the most important first-hand materials for studying the reign of Justinian I.
Justinian is one of the most influential emperors in the world, which is mainly reflected in two points: he laid a solid foundation for the Byzantine Empire, lasted for nearly a thousand years in the storm of history, and later became the only fire in the western civilized world of Eurasia. Second, the complete collection of Roman civil law. After the demise of the Byzantine Empire, the Justinian Code once lost its influence. However, under the impetus of the European Renaissance, the Justinian Code of Law regained its enthusiasm and became a legal encyclopedia beyond the time and space constraints. The laws of modern European countries, except Britain's own system, were deeply influenced by Roman law, which also influenced the laws of countries such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the United States. Therefore, among the most influential emperors in the world history, Justinian I deserved to enter the former 10.