Justinian's Code Document

1)    Women’s roles in Byzantine society involved them being subservient to the men.  Their purpose was to be a wife or concubine and a mother to their children.  The reason for these assumptions is that, despite this document being based upon the family life between males and females, the females are placed under a lot more restrictions and generally hold less power than the male.  For example, a son needs permission from his grandfather and father for marriage, whereas a daughter needs only the permission of her grandfather; the daughter is not as important because only one person is needed to determine her marriage.  Regarding concubines, the woman must remain with her patron so long as he desires it; the woman cannot act based on her desires, rather, she has to please the male.

I think it is important to note that these ideas do not seem to be based on religious texts nor previous events in the history of the empire.  Instead, these ideas are based on the opinions of Justinian and his lawyers.  Under the concubine section, the lawyers or Justinian use “I think” and “I agree” instead of something along the lines of “based upon….”

2)     As we discussed in class, Justinian’s background is important because it gives insight as to how Justinian feels towards certain groups of society.  Although we are not certain how Justinian felt towards the rich and the poor, we know that he was raised as a peasant and probably feels either resentment for the rich or disinterest in the poor.  Justinian also came to power through the military, so some of these laws are probably built with the military on the mind. 

Background of the empire is also important because the chaos in the states of Rome and Byzantine can at least partially be attributed to the contradictory laws.  To avoid loopholes, the lawyers would have had to research previous events and create laws based upon these events. 

Roman City Prompts

c. How does an aqueduct move water? How is this like or unlike the way a qanat worked in Persia?

Aquedeucts were built into mountains so that they could tap into its water supply.  These aqueducts would carry water through its structure for long distances using arches.  Multiple levels of arches were built when crossing a barricade like water.  The aqueducts would be built with a slight slant so that gravity could transport the water to its destination.  The qanats in Persia were similar in that gravity was used to transport water from a source of water located in a mountain.  However, the difference was that the aqueducts were built above ground, and qanats were built underground.

f. Why can’t Marcus Fabricius marry Aiden? How does this compare to attitudes about marriage in Classical Era India?

Fabricius cannot marry Aiden because Fabricius is a citizen of Rome, but Aiden is not.  This is similar to marriage in Classical Era India in that there were certain criteria that needed to be reached.  In India, the two people who wish to be wed needed to be in the same caste and jati, and in Rome both needed to be a Roman citizen.

g. What attitudes toward slavery are displayed by the characters in the film? Are slaves the same in Rome as they were in Classical Greece?

Slaves are treated with more respect than what is accustomed.  The owners were lenient in their behavior towards slaves, and the slaves were allowed to be free.  Slaves were also allowed to be craftsmen.  The slaves were treated similarly in Greece as they were in Rome.  Slaves in Greece were given incentive to work hard because they were provided with shops and a portion of their earnings.  If they were skilled successful enough, they were able to win their freedom.