Crime and Punishment in Ancient Rome

Crime and punishment have concerned humanity since the beginning of social life. Their manifestations in ancient Rome remains an interesting topic, as the law of most European countries today is derived from ancient Roman law. The author tells the history of punishment from the Roman Republic to the late Empire, thus shedding light on some decisive aspects of Roman history. Trials for treason, sedition and corruption illuminate political history; common law crimes like murder, poisoning, rape, adultery and forgery sharpen the perception of social history; discussions of freedom of speech increase the understanding of intellectual history; and religious persecutions fill out the picture of religious history. This study should provide useful reading not only for the Roman historian, but for modern historians and lawyers, sociologists and those generally interested in classical antiquity.

"Tightly argued and written, this is a book for specialist libraries in legal history and theory, in classics, and in the social history of the Roman world."
-Religious Studies Review, Jan. 1999

Richard A. Bauman

Crime and punishment have concerned humanity since the beginning of social life. Their manifestations in ancient Rome remains a fascinating topic, as the law of most European countries today is derived from ancient Roman law.Richard A. Bauman tells the history of punishment from the Roman Republic to the late Empire, thus shedding light on some decisive aspects of Roman history. Trials for treason, sedition and corruption illuminate political history; common law crimes like murder, and forgery that sharpen our perception of social history; discussions of freedom of speech increase our understanding of intellectual history; and religious persecutions fill out the picture of religious history.

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