Editing Roman law (section)

=== Post-classical law ===
By the middle of the 3rd century, the conditions for the flourishing of a refined legal culture had become less favourable. The general political and economic situation deteriorated as the emperors assumed more direct control of all aspects of political life. The political system of the [[Principate]], which had retained some features of the republican constitution, began to transform itself into the absolute monarchy of the [[Dominate]]. The existence of legal science and of jurists who regarded law as a science, not as an instrument to achieve the political goals set by the absolute monarch, did not fit well into the new order of things. Jurisprudential literary production all but ended. Few jurists after the mid-3rd century are known by name. While legal science and legal education persisted to some extent in the eastern part of the Empire, most of the subtleties of classical law came to be disregarded and finally forgotten in the west. Classical law was replaced by the so-called [[vulgar law]] of the late [[Roman Empire]].{{Cn|date=January 2025}}