Interaction Between Roman Ius Civile and Local Provincial Legal Tradition

Abstract

When Babatha, a Jewish woman living in Maoza, conducted her legal affairs in the early second century CE, her homeland was already under the rule of the Romans as the province of Arabia Petraea. Although people were granted the right to use their original legal system, the situation with respect to legal disputes was not that straightforward. The nearest judiciary authority was the appointed Roman governor. Since Babatha was not a Roman citizen, in case of litigation, the governor would apply ius gentium, which was, in fact, more of an idea than a specific legal system. The Greek documents in the Archive are a precious testimony not only for the life of Babatha herself but also for how Roman dominion over various regions influenced how local legal affairs were conducted. The discussion continues relating the archive, whether traces of the Roman ius civile can be found in the papyri, and if so, what it means considering the law that was used in the provinces. The papyri P. Yadin 21 and P. Yadin 22 are presented as purchase and sale, which, however, poses a question as to what tradition lies behind the contract. In this article, we want to present how the Roman ius civile could possibly interact with local provincial legal tradition on the example of the papyri P. Yadin 21 and P. Yadin 22, comparing them to the Roman contracts, treating the possible use of stipulatio.