Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of Roman law with increased Orthodox Christian and Hellenistic influence. Most sources define Byzantine law as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century and ending with the Fall of Constantinople in the 15th century. Although future Byzantine codes and constitutions derived largely from Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis, their main objectives were idealistic and ceremonial rather than practical. Following Hellenistic and Near-Eastern political systems, legislations were tools to idealize and display the sacred role and responsibility of the emperor as the holy monarch chosen by God and the incarnation of law "nómos émpsychos", thus having philosophical and religious purposes that idealized perfect Byzantine kingship.
Though during and after the European Renaissance Western legal practices were heavily influenced by Justinian's Code (the Corpus Juris Civilis) and Roman law during classical times, Byzantine law nevertheless had substantial influence on Western traditions during the Middle Ages and after.
The most important work of Byzantine law was the Ecloga, issued by Leo III, the first major Roman-Byzantine legal code issued in Greek rather than Latin. Soon after the Farmer's Law was established regulating legal standards outside the cities. While the Ecloga was influential throughout the Mediterranean (and Europe) because of the importance of Constantinople as a trading center, the Farmer's Law was a seminal influence on Slavic legal traditions including those of Russia.
Influences and sources
Byzantium inherited most of its political institutions from the late Roman period. Similarly, Roman law constituted one of the basis for the Byzantine legal system. For many centuries, the two great codifications carried out by Theodosius II and Justinian respectively, were the cornerstones of Byzantine legislation. Of course, over the years these Roman codes were adjusted to the current circumstances and then replaced by new codifications, written in Greek. However, the influence of Roman law persisted, and it is obvious in codifications, such as Basilika, which was based on Corpus Juris Civilis. In the 11th century, Michael Psellos prides himself for being acquainted with the Roman legal legacy ("Ἰταλῶν σοφία").A. Cameron, The Byzantines, p. 153; G. Mousourakis, Context of Roman Law, p. 397.
Although Byzantine law structure had largely a Roman constitutional body, the main difference of Byzantine law from its Roman counterpart was both in its application and interpretation which were subject and applied under different Hellenistic and Orthodox principles shared between the Byzantine academic currículum, developing a legal system that encouraged different interpretations of law according to philanthropy and evergetia rather than the application of justice itself, acting for the well-being and benefit of the population rather than for the correct structuring of society.
The various philanthropics values of different classical philosophies intermixed with jurisprudence were already a fixed custom in the different code books and constitutions of the Ancient Hellenistic and Near-eastern kingdoms which practiced jurisprudence like a branch of literature and philosophy rather than a science of its own as pioneered by the Roman approach. Said customs and constitutions instituted greater influence at Christianity's arrival, being included in Justinian's novels which dictated that the law should be interpreted on the basis of philanthropy and piety as the emperors of the Macedonian dynasty had acted against the constant abuses and evasions of the dynatoi by imposing the allelengyon or through the different establishment of humanitarian and monastic institutions across the empire.
By the time the Ecloga and the Basilika were being codified, a further increase in Hellenistic and Christian values were also put into practice, all death penalties were replaced with amputations and severe economic sanctions while making further clarifications and references to the different Orthodox and Hellenistic concepts like that the judge should not only be the law incarnate, but also had to interpret it on the basis of "philanthrōpía" and "evergetikós". Thus, verdicts were applied being directly influenced by the different values, ethics and philosophies of their Orthodox social environment and not by the legal provisions of the code books, resulting in the misapplication and misinterpretation of a theoretically and strictly non-malleable Roman law.
In the absence of capable and efficient legal systems and the eclectic Byzantine approach to jurisprudence, most judges and legal processes across the empire were carried through simplified and vernacular laws such as The Farmers' Law, The Sea Laws, The Military Laws or the lesser known Mosaic Law, the different Orthodox and Hellenistic values or orally through the efficient and persuasive use of rhetoric rather than the legal provisions themselves, without Roman law seeing any proper fully systematized or continuing application whatsoever.
In accordance with the Orthodox-Hellenistic concepts of Kingship, the main source of law in Byzantium remained the enactments of the emperor since he himself was the law (nómos émpsychos). The latter initiated some major codifications of the Roman law, but they also issued their own "new laws", the Novels ("Novellae", "Νεαραὶ"). In the late Roman era the legislative interest of the emperors intensified, and laws were now regulating the main aspects of public, private, economic and social life.M.T. Fögen, "Legislation in Byzantium", pp. 53–54; R. Morris, "Dispute Settlement", 126; G. Mousourakis, Context of Roman Law, pp. 399–400. For example, Constantine I was the first to regulate divorce and Theodosius I intervened in faith issues, imposing a specific version of the Creed.M.T. Fögen, "Legislation in Byzantium", pp. 56, 59. From Diocletian to Theodosius I, namely during approximately 100 years, more than 2,000 laws were issued. Justinian alone promulgated approximately 600 laws. Gradually, the legislative enthusiasm receded, but still some of the laws of later emperors, such as Leo VI's Novels, are of particular importance.A. Cameron, The Byzantines, p. 153; M.T. Fögen, "Legislation in Byzantium", pp. 53–54. The custom continued to play a limited role as a secondary source of law, but written legislation had a precedence.R. Morris, "Dispute Settlement", 126; G. Mousourakis, Context of Roman Law, pp. 401–402.
Early Byzantine period There is no definitively established date for when the Byzantine period of Roman history begins. During the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries the Empire was split and united administratively more than once. But it was during this period that Constantinople was first established and the East gained its own identity administratively; thus, it is often considered the early Byzantine period. These developments, nevertheless, were key steps in the formation of Byzantine Law.
Codex Theodosianus
In 438, Emperor Theodosius published the Codex Theodosianus, which consisted of 16 books, containing all standing laws from the age of Constantine I until then.
Corpus Juris Civilis
Soon after his accession in 527, Justinian appointed a commission to collect and codify existing Roman law. A second commission, headed by the jurist Tribonian, was appointed in 530 to select matter of permanent value from the works of the jurists, to edit it and to arrange it into 50 books. In 533 this commission produced the Digesta.
Although Law as practiced in Rome had grown up as a type of case law, this was not the "Roman Law" known to the Medieval, or modern world. Now Roman law claims to be based on abstract principles of justice that were made into actual rules of law by legislative authority of the emperor or the Roman people. These ideas were transmitted to the Middle Ages in the great codification of Roman law carried throughout by the emperor Justinian. The Corpus Iuris Civilis was issued in Latin in three parts: the Institutes, the Digest (Pandects), and the Code (Codex). It was the last major legal document written in Latin.
The world's most widespread legal system, civil law, is based on the Corpus (in, for instance, most of Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, as well as in the mixed jurisdictions of South Africa, Scotland, Quebec, the Philippines and Louisiana).
Greek works Following Justinian's reign the Empire entered a period of rapid decline partially enabling the Arab conquests which would further weaken the Empire. Knowledge of Latin, which had been in decline since the fall of the West, virtually disappeared, making many of the old legal codices almost inaccessible. These developments contributed to a dramatic weakening of legal standards in the Empire and a substantial drop in the standards of legal scholarship. Legal practice would become much more pragmatic and, as knowledge of Latin in the Empire waned, direct use of Justinian's "Corpus Juris Civilis" would be abandoned in favor of summaries, commentaries, and new compilations written in Greek.
The Nomos Georgikos ("Farmer's Law") was promulgated likely during the reign of emperor Justinian II ( 685–695 and 705–711), and it focused largely on peasantry and rural villages, and protected farmer property, concerned with property damage, theft, taxation, and included penalties on misdemeanors committed by villagers, and was designed for the growing free peasantry-class, supplemented by the influx of South Slavs. It was a compendium largely based on provisions of basic and practical knowledge inherited through oral tradition and of a casuistic nature. At the same time as the Farmer's Law, two other laws were promulgated, the Nomos Stratiotikos ("Soldier's Law") for soldiers and the Nomos Rhodion Nautikos ("Rhodian Sea Law") for maritime law.
The Ekloge ton nomon ("Selection of the Laws") was compiled under Leo III ( 726–741) and was based on Roman law, but written in Greek, and its main purpose was to be used by the judges. It is a revision of Justinian's Institutes, Digest, Code and Novellae, with Christian principles. In civil law, women's rights and children's rights were improved at the expense of the father. In criminal law, capital punishment was restricted to treason, military desertion, certain homicidies, heresy and slander, and removed death penalty for many previous capital offenses, many punishments replaced with mutilation. Equal punishment regardless of social class was prescribed. As to remove bribery, salaries were provided for officials and judges, with the prohibition of accepting gifts.
The Sea Laws