- St John's College
Oxford
OX1 3JP
UK
Georgy Kantor
University of Oxford, Classics, Faculty Member
- I am interested in political, social and institutional history of the early Roman Empire, history of Roman law, epigr... moreI am interested in political, social and institutional history of the early Roman Empire, history of Roman law, epigraphy of the Roman world (both Latin and Greek), and regional history of Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor and Black Sea area.
I am preparing for publication in the Oxford Classical Monographs series a monograph (based on my Oxford D.Phil. thesis) concerned with the interaction of Roman and local law and judicial institutions in Asia Minor before the constitutio Antoniniana. My next research project is on social and institutional history of the province of Lycia-Pamphylia from its creation by Claudius to the beginning of the fourth century AD.
I am also an assistant editor of the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (http://www.brill.nl/seg) with responsibility for the Northern and Western Black Sea coast and the Danubian region, and in particular for publications in Slavonic languages.edit
In this volume, ownership is defined as the simple fact of being able to describe something as 'mine' or 'yours', and property is distinguished as the discursive field which allows the articulation of attendant rights, relationships, and... more
In this volume, ownership is defined as the simple fact of being able to describe something as 'mine' or 'yours', and property is distinguished as the discursive field which allows the articulation of attendant rights, relationships, and obligations. Property is often articulated through legalism as a way of thinking that appeals to rules and to generalizing concepts as a way of understanding, responding to, and managing the world around one. An Aristotelian perspective suggests that ownership is the natural state of things and a prerequisite of a true sense of self. An alternative perspective from legal theory puts law at the heart of the origins of property. However, both these points of view are problematic in a wider context, the latter because it rests heavily on Roman law. Anthropological and historical studies enable us to interrogate these assumptions.
The articles here, ranging from Roman provinces to modern-day piracy in Somalia, address questions such as: How are legal property regimes intertwined with economic, moral-ethical, and political prerogatives? How far do the assumptions of the western philosophical tradition explain property and ownership in other societies? Is the 'bundle of rights' a useful way to think about property? How does legalism negotiate property relationships and interests between communities and individuals? How does the legalism of property respond to the temporalities and materialities of the objects owned? How are property regimes managed by states, and what kinds of conflicts are thus generated?
Property and ownership cannot be reduced to natural rights, nor do they straightforwardly reflect power relations: the rules through which property is articulated tend to be conceptually subtle. As the fourth volume in the Legalism series, this collection draws on common themes that run throughout the first three volumes: Legalism: Anthropology and History, Legalism: Community and Justice, and Legalism: Rules and Categories consolidating them in a framework that suggests a new approach to legal concepts.
The articles here, ranging from Roman provinces to modern-day piracy in Somalia, address questions such as: How are legal property regimes intertwined with economic, moral-ethical, and political prerogatives? How far do the assumptions of the western philosophical tradition explain property and ownership in other societies? Is the 'bundle of rights' a useful way to think about property? How does legalism negotiate property relationships and interests between communities and individuals? How does the legalism of property respond to the temporalities and materialities of the objects owned? How are property regimes managed by states, and what kinds of conflicts are thus generated?
Property and ownership cannot be reduced to natural rights, nor do they straightforwardly reflect power relations: the rules through which property is articulated tend to be conceptually subtle. As the fourth volume in the Legalism series, this collection draws on common themes that run throughout the first three volumes: Legalism: Anthropology and History, Legalism: Community and Justice, and Legalism: Rules and Categories consolidating them in a framework that suggests a new approach to legal concepts.
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An appreciation of Andrew Lintott's contribution to Roman legal history, for the volume of his collected articles.
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This chapter explores the legal dimension of the local citizenships of Greek poleis in the ‘long second century’. After discussion of methodological issues, it offers a detailed case-study of Parthicopolis in Macedonia which provides our... more
This chapter explores the legal dimension of the local citizenships of Greek poleis in the ‘long second century’. After discussion of methodological issues, it offers a detailed case-study of Parthicopolis in Macedonia which provides our most detailed evidence for the role of citizenship in a non-privileged civic community (especially interesting as it was a new foundation in this period). This is followed by discussion of citizenships in privileged ‘free’ cities, with particular attention to our best attested case of Aphrodisias in Caria and to the role of multiple citizenships. The final section explores evidence for local substantive law in this period and the extent to which it was connected to civic status; significant evidence of the recently published decree of Tralles on public morals shows the competing principle of territoriality at work. The citizenship principle in jurisdiction and application of substantive rules remained strong in Greek cities in this period but existed in constant competition and negotiation with the claims of the territorial principle. The tension between the two is best understood in terms of what legal anthropologist Lauren Benton has termed ‘jurisdictional politics’.
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Dieses Kapitel befasst sich mit Rechtsprechung und Justiznutzung in den römischen Provinzen (d. h. nach dem in der späten Republik entwickelten Gebrauch des Begriffs: den Gebieten unter römischer Herrschaft außerhalb Italiens) in der Zeit... more
Dieses Kapitel befasst sich mit Rechtsprechung und Justiznutzung in den römischen Provinzen (d. h. nach dem in der späten Republik entwickelten Gebrauch des Begriffs: den Gebieten unter römischer Herrschaft außerhalb Italiens) in der Zeit von der Entstehung des mediterranen römischen Imperiums in der mittleren Republik bis zur Neuordnung der Provinzialverwaltung unter Diokletian und Konstantin. Ein sauberes Abschneiden ist hier nicht leicht, da viele unserer Zeugnisse für die früheren Zeitabschnitte natürlich aus den spätantiken Kodifizierungen Justinians 529–534 n. Chr. und, in geringerem Maße, der von Theodosius II. im Jahr 438 n. Chr. stammen. Es wurde jedoch vermieden, die Entwicklungen nach der Tetrarchie für sich genommen zu besprechen.
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Obituary of Fergus Millar for the Vestnik drevnej istorii.
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The chapter starts from the questions raised by a well-known (but underexplored from this angle) source for Roman governmental practice in provinces, the correspondence of Pliny the Younger as governor of Pontus-Bithynia in ca. AD 109–111... more
The chapter starts from the questions raised by a well-known (but underexplored from this angle) source for Roman governmental practice in provinces, the correspondence of Pliny the Younger as governor of Pontus-Bithynia in ca. AD 109–111 with the emperor Trajan, and attempts to integrate it with evidence from the legal and documentary sources on peculiarities of Bithynian law in the High Imperial period. Behind the deceptively straightforward presentation of legal issues in Pliny’s letters to the emperor there can be discovered a much more complex interaction between the interests of individuals, communities, their legal representatives and the governor himself. A particular attention is paid to the continuing role of the lex Pompeia, an uncharacteristically extensive set of Roman regulations for the province, going back to its early years.
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Personal reminiscences of my Moscow tutor, a historian of Roman provincial government, Alexander L. Smyshliaev, contributed to the memorial section of the Istoricheskij vestnik alongside the obituary by Oleg Aurov and Alexander Marey, and... more
Personal reminiscences of my Moscow tutor, a historian of Roman provincial government, Alexander L. Smyshliaev, contributed to the memorial section of the Istoricheskij vestnik alongside the obituary by Oleg Aurov and Alexander Marey, and reminiscences by Alexey Vigasin.
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Beginning with theories of absolute property, this introduction considers the merits of a more composite view, namely the ‘bundle of rights’ concept. Anthropologists discuss the relationships between people at the heart of property... more
Beginning with theories of absolute property, this introduction considers the merits of a more composite view, namely the ‘bundle of rights’ concept. Anthropologists discuss the relationships between people at the heart of property regimes, but personhood must also be seen as embedded in the things owned. The ideas of rules and control are key, and the concept of control at a distance provides useful conceptual purchase. Property is a complex idea to articulate, and natural law, religious and political frameworks of property are interwoven. Moreover, property is shaped by economic prerogatives, and its management shapes the relationship between the individual and the community, and the preservation of common resources. Property is, then, thoroughly embedded in social contexts, which in turn can render property highly unstable and contingent. It is precisely because of these kinds of tensions that legalism is so often invoked in order to manage and even create property relations.
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Roman concept of dominium has been fundamental in the formation of concepts of ownership in European legal tradition. It is, however, often considered outside the context of Roman imperial rule and of the multiplicity of legal regimes... more
Roman concept of dominium has been fundamental in the formation of concepts of ownership in European legal tradition. It is, however, often considered outside the context of Roman imperial rule and of the multiplicity of legal regimes governing property relations in Roman provinces outside Italy. This chapter starts from the classic passage in the Institutes of Gaius, claiming that the right of dominium did not exist in provincial land, where it belonged to the Roman state. Gaius’ statement is often dismissed in modern historical scholarship as a ‘conveyancer’s fantasy’ (A.H.M. Jones). It is argued here that, on the contrary, this passage and other similar statements in Roman juristic literature and technical literature on land-measurement, show an important facet of Roman ideas of ownership as a socially contingent right, dependent on civic status of the owner, status of the territory within the empire, and Roman recognition of local property regimes.
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Congratulatory editorial from the Vestnik drevnej istorii
Dieser Aufsatz plädiert für eine engere Datierung der kaiserzeitlichen Inschriften der fremden Richter aus dem Heiligtum des Zeus Osogo in Mylasa (I.Mylasa I 361–376; SEG LI 1526; LIV 1103). Als Hauptargumente werden die Erwähnungen (oder... more
Dieser Aufsatz plädiert für eine engere Datierung der kaiserzeitlichen Inschriften der fremden Richter aus dem Heiligtum des Zeus Osogo in Mylasa (I.Mylasa I 361–376; SEG LI 1526; LIV 1103). Als Hauptargumente werden die Erwähnungen (oder das Fehlen) des Metropolen Status von Xanthos und Tlos, als auch die relative Position der Inschriften auf den Säulen, angeführt. Die Inschriften müssen daher in den Zeitraum zwischen den 90er Jahren n. Chr. und den Nachwirkungen des Hadrianbesuchs in Lykien im Jahr 129 oder 131 n. Chr. fallen.
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This chapter deals with the impact of Roman legal institutions and political realities of Roman dominance on legal institutions in the Greek world, and with developments of Greek law within the imperial framework from the fall of Corinth... more
This chapter deals with the impact of Roman legal institutions and political realities of Roman dominance on legal institutions in the Greek world, and with developments of Greek law within the imperial framework from the fall of Corinth to its last traces in late imperial legislation. It addresses in particular the specific characteristics of sources for Greek law in the Roman period, conflicts of jurisdiction between Greek poleis and imperial authorities, the law of personal status in the new imperial context and new developments in the law of property and obligation. The concluding sections deals with the demise of Greek law in late antiquity and its afterlife in late imperial legislation.
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A decree of Chersonesus Taurica, found by R. Loeper in 1908, but only published by I. Makarov in 2005, throws significant new light on the operation of local courts in the mid-first century AD and on the history of Chersonesus in that... more
A decree of Chersonesus Taurica, found by R. Loeper in 1908, but only published by I. Makarov in 2005, throws significant new light on the operation of local courts in the mid-first century AD and on the history of Chersonesus in that period. The decree deals with the reform of the local jury-courts (whose survival into the Roman period has not been previously attested), necessitated by the lack of eligible jurors. Highly importantly, some of the provisions of the new model seem to be taken over from the Roman practice on the initiative of the Chersonesites themselves, without any intervention of the Roman authorities. In the first part of my paper I republish the text with some new textual suggestions, and the second part is concerned with the significance of the new provisions for jury-courts and with their implications for legal history of the Greek East under Rome.
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This opening chapter discusses two interconnected topics. First, it examines how the vocabulary of law, right, and justice (such terms as Latin lex, ius and iura, iustitia, regulum, and Greek nomos, nomimon, thesmos, dike, dikaios,... more
This opening chapter discusses two interconnected topics. First, it examines how the vocabulary of law, right, and justice (such terms as Latin lex, ius and iura, iustitia, regulum, and Greek nomos, nomimon, thesmos, dike, dikaios, philanthropa) was used in Hellenistic and Roman legal and administrative practice (both ‘governmental’ and ‘non-governmental’), and what kinds of rules and regulations were actually issued and enforced by imperial and royal governments, local communities, and private associations. Secondly, it considers the extent to which modern attempts to understand law and justice and to classify types of legal rules can properly be applied to Roman and Hellenistic material circa 300 BC -- AD 250.
This bears a superficial resemblance to the old search for a ‘spirit of Roman law’ (von Jhering’s Geist des römischen Rechts, 1852 onward) or to analyses of the principles of Roman jurisprudence (most notably Schulz’s Principles of Roman Law, 1936), but the aim here is in fact quite different. It is neither to establish the underlying ‘mindset’ nor to unpack ideas about what is just, which Roman jurists supposedly did not quite articulate themselves, but instead to understand the significance in practice of terms such as ‘law’ and ‘justice’, and to compare this with modern terminology and modern concepts. Even though (or, perhaps, because) European thinking about law and justice grew largely out of Romanist theory, it often imposes unhelpful preconceptions. The anthropologist’s concerns with ‘translating culture’ deserve more prominence. Whilst thinking of ancient law in the categories developed by the German nineteenth-century Pandektistik is now widely criticized, no systematic attempt has so far been made to deal in other terms with concepts of law implied in Roman and Hellenistic legal practice. The applicability, or otherwise, of more recent attempts to grasp ancient law through concepts of law, justice, and rules of conduct drawn from legal philosophy and anthropology also remains largely unexplored.
The chapter concentrates on the Hellenistic and Roman period, to about AD 250, for which the ideas of legal thinkers can be compared with abundant (if rather unevenly spread) documentary material from different regions of the Graeco-Roman world. This is of particular comparative interest for historians dealing with other periods and settings and for anthropologists, since during the Hellenistic period we can explore understandings of ‘law’ and ‘rules’ at many different levels, from empire to village or trade association, rather than just at the city-state level characteristic of the preceding age.
This bears a superficial resemblance to the old search for a ‘spirit of Roman law’ (von Jhering’s Geist des römischen Rechts, 1852 onward) or to analyses of the principles of Roman jurisprudence (most notably Schulz’s Principles of Roman Law, 1936), but the aim here is in fact quite different. It is neither to establish the underlying ‘mindset’ nor to unpack ideas about what is just, which Roman jurists supposedly did not quite articulate themselves, but instead to understand the significance in practice of terms such as ‘law’ and ‘justice’, and to compare this with modern terminology and modern concepts. Even though (or, perhaps, because) European thinking about law and justice grew largely out of Romanist theory, it often imposes unhelpful preconceptions. The anthropologist’s concerns with ‘translating culture’ deserve more prominence. Whilst thinking of ancient law in the categories developed by the German nineteenth-century Pandektistik is now widely criticized, no systematic attempt has so far been made to deal in other terms with concepts of law implied in Roman and Hellenistic legal practice. The applicability, or otherwise, of more recent attempts to grasp ancient law through concepts of law, justice, and rules of conduct drawn from legal philosophy and anthropology also remains largely unexplored.
The chapter concentrates on the Hellenistic and Roman period, to about AD 250, for which the ideas of legal thinkers can be compared with abundant (if rather unevenly spread) documentary material from different regions of the Graeco-Roman world. This is of particular comparative interest for historians dealing with other periods and settings and for anthropologists, since during the Hellenistic period we can explore understandings of ‘law’ and ‘rules’ at many different levels, from empire to village or trade association, rather than just at the city-state level characteristic of the preceding age.
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The article discusses the vexed question of internal jurisdiction of Jewish diaspora communities in the Roman province of Asia, particularly at Sardis. The validity of Flavius Josephus' evidence is upheld, following the arguments of E.J.... more
The article discusses the vexed question of internal jurisdiction of Jewish diaspora communities in the Roman province of Asia, particularly at Sardis. The validity of Flavius Josephus' evidence is upheld, following the arguments of E.J. Bickerman and C. Eilers, and the ideology behind Roman interventions in support of Jewish courts discussed. It is contended that the judicial privileges granted by Rome to Jewish communities in Asia Minor were meant to protect Jews from misuse of power by local, rather than Roman provincial, courts. The grant of such privileges was likely to be based on a degree of recognition by the Roman government that the “ancestral laws” of the Jews were different from those of the Greeks and, thus, on the fact of Jewish substantive law being in existence in Asia Minor. It is further argued that the view that this necessarily entailed official recognition of internal Jewish courts is unwarranted and that even at Sardis, where it is known to have been granted, Jewish privileges in the judicial sphere remained very restricted in comparison with the level of autonomy that could be enjoyed by civic courts. In conclusion, further consequences of conflict of judicial privileges between Greek and Jewish communities for the spread of Roman jurisdiction in Asia Minor are explored.
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Les dispositions de la lex Rupilia – telles qu’elles nous sont décrite par Cicéron (Verr. II.2.32) – qui concernent les cas de litige entre les citoyens de différentes communautés siciliennes, n’étaient pas applicables aux résidents de... more
Les dispositions de la lex Rupilia – telles qu’elles nous sont décrite par Cicéron (Verr. II.2.32) – qui concernent les cas de litige entre les citoyens de différentes communautés siciliennes, n’étaient pas applicables aux résidents de Sicile n’étant citoyens d’aucune ville sicilienne, ni aux cas de litiges impliquant Siciliens résidants dans une autre province ou en Italie. Ceci différencie cette loi des dispositions judiciaires des provinces héllenophones de Rome, qui (du moins dans les communautes privilegées) entérinait la jurisdiction civile des résidents étrangers et protégeait les citoyens d’une communauté particulière quelle que soit leur résidence dans l’empire romain. Au cas où ces privilèges seraient invoqués par les résidents étrangers en Sicile, ceci contradirait et (en raison de l’utilisation du pouvoir discrétionnaire du gouverneur dans de tels cas) minerait le iura des Siciliens guaranti par la lex Rupilia.
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The accepted theory of the provincial affiliation of the Aegean islands, going back to the work of F. Hiller von Gaetringen, is that all the islands included in the Diocletianic prouincia insularum formed a part of the province of Asia... more
The accepted theory of the provincial affiliation of the Aegean islands, going back to the work of F. Hiller von Gaetringen, is that all the islands included in the Diocletianic prouincia insularum formed a part of the province of Asia ever since its organisation by Manius Aquillius in 129–126 B.C. It is argued in this article that this is mistaken for the islands not mentioned as part of the prouincia Asia in the Geography of Ptolemy (with the possible exception of Andros) for the period until the mid-second century A.D., when the procuratorial district of Caria et Cyclades appears. It is suggested that this change happened in the reign of Hadrian, who is known to have made other territorial adjustments in the region and, therefore, should be considered separately from the reforms in the organisation of Asia that took place under Marcus Aurelius. The importance of this conclusion for our assessment of Ptolemy’s data is emphasized.
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Three years after the creation of the province of Lycia and the end of its independent existence in A.D. 43 the Lycian League put up at Patara an inscription in honour of the emperor Claudius (AE. 2001. 1931; SEG LI 1832), in which he is... more
Three years after the creation of the province of Lycia and the end of its independent existence in A.D. 43 the Lycian League put up at Patara an inscription in honour of the emperor Claudius (AE. 2001. 1931; SEG LI 1832), in which he is praised for restoring to the Lycians their ‘ancestral laws’. This is at odds with the common usage of the expression ‘ancestral laws’ in the context of confirmation of privileges of civitates liberae and prompts a question, if the legal situation of Lycia after the annexation can be accommodated in the traditional bipartite division between free and subject communities?
In an attempt to give a partial answer to this question the author undertakes a comparative study of Lycian judicial institutions and their relation to Roman provincial courts before and after the creation of the province. For the pre-annexation period an extensive use is made of the new evidence of the treaty between Julius Caesar and the Lycian League (published by S. Mitchell as P.Schøyen I 25), which contains detailed provisions for the division of responsibility between Roman and Lycian courts. The author reconsiders available evidence for Lycian courts, in particular for the vexed question of the nature of the metapempta dikastēria and of the court of xenokritai. On the basis of the second century A.D. inscriptions, in the first place of a fragmentary inscription from the Letoon in Xanthos (AE. 1981. 839), he argues for their identity with the Hellenistic institution of ‘foreign judges’ and for a still prominent place occupied by them in the provincial judicial system. A study is also made of the sources for Roman courts in Lycia, including such problems as the date of the Lycian lex provinciae and the conventus-centres of the province of Lycia-Pamphylia.
He concludes that Lycian evidence tells against a strict dichotomy of ‘free’ and ‘subject’ communities as regards jurisdictional matters. It is argued that there is a need for a more subtle system of definitions, in which the case of Lycia will take place somewhere between two extremes.
In an attempt to give a partial answer to this question the author undertakes a comparative study of Lycian judicial institutions and their relation to Roman provincial courts before and after the creation of the province. For the pre-annexation period an extensive use is made of the new evidence of the treaty between Julius Caesar and the Lycian League (published by S. Mitchell as P.Schøyen I 25), which contains detailed provisions for the division of responsibility between Roman and Lycian courts. The author reconsiders available evidence for Lycian courts, in particular for the vexed question of the nature of the metapempta dikastēria and of the court of xenokritai. On the basis of the second century A.D. inscriptions, in the first place of a fragmentary inscription from the Letoon in Xanthos (AE. 1981. 839), he argues for their identity with the Hellenistic institution of ‘foreign judges’ and for a still prominent place occupied by them in the provincial judicial system. A study is also made of the sources for Roman courts in Lycia, including such problems as the date of the Lycian lex provinciae and the conventus-centres of the province of Lycia-Pamphylia.
He concludes that Lycian evidence tells against a strict dichotomy of ‘free’ and ‘subject’ communities as regards jurisdictional matters. It is argued that there is a need for a more subtle system of definitions, in which the case of Lycia will take place somewhere between two extremes.
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Review of an important new study of the decline of the polis institutional model in Asia Minor.
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Review of Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age, by Tom Holland; Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World, by Mary Beard
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In der Welt der griechisch-römischen Stadtstaaten spielten militärische Allianzen immer eine Rolle. In Kriegszeiten bot die Zusammenlegung der Ressourcen mehrerer Städte offensichtliche Vorteile, insbesondere beim Bündnis der Griechen... more
In der Welt der griechisch-römischen Stadtstaaten spielten militärische Allianzen immer eine Rolle. In Kriegszeiten bot die Zusammenlegung der Ressourcen mehrerer Städte offensichtliche Vorteile, insbesondere beim Bündnis der Griechen gegen Persien, im Falle des Peloponnesischen Bundes oder des von Athen geführten Attisch-Delischen Seebundes. Einige dieser Bündnisse gewannen dauerhafteren Charakter und dienten als Grundlage von Bundesstaaten oder der Reichsbildung. Der expandierenden Römischen Republik ermöglichten es Allianzen, die Ressourcen abhängiger Staaten einzuspannen und so die Kosten des Imperiums zu beschränken. In der Spätantike nutzte Rom seine Bündnisse, um 'Barbaren'-Stämme in die Verwaltungs- und Verteidigungsstrukturen des Imperiums einzubinden.
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What do epigraphists bring to the table for other students of the ancient world and why is it important?
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With public art collections closed we are bringing the art to you, exploring highlights and hidden gems from across the country in partnership with Art UK. Today’s pick: St John’s College, Oxford’s Queen Charlotte Sophia
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Personal recollections of Donald Russell (1920-2020)
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A letter to the editor concerning a Tacitean quotation in Jacques Auguste de Thou and its modern relevance.
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A contribution to an interdiciplinary round-table on 'parascience'.