The legal status of the Jews in the Roman Empire

Abstract

The legal status of the Jews in the Roman Empire was determined, as a result, by a three-tiered system of laws. First and highest was the Common law, based on the principles of personality and territoriality. Second, a special law instituted by the appropriate organs of the non- Jewish society, Jewry law. The third tier in this system was the Jewish law, the halachah. The diversity of the Common law practiced by the Jews in the Land of Israel during the pagan period is reflected in the heterogeneity of the judicial system that applied it. By the close of the pagan period the Common law in the Land of Israel was highly heterogeneous, including a substantial component of Jewish law with its particular legislative and judicial institutions. The Christianization of the institutional framework of the Roman Empire inevitably implied the conversion of the existing legal system in accordance with Christian values and objectives.