Editing Antoninus Pius (section)

=== Legal reforms ===
[[File:Copy inscribed in marble of a letter from Antoninus Pius to the Ephesians, from the Bouleuterion at Ephesus, 140-144 AD, British Museum (16965588461).jpg|thumb|Copy inscribed in marble of a letter from Antoninus to the Ephesians, from the [[Bouleuterion]] at Ephesus, 140–144 AD, explaining how the emperor resolved a dispute between the Roman cities of [[Ephesus]] and [[Smyrna]].<br/> [[British Museum]], London.]]

Antoninus tried to portray himself as a magistrate of the ''[[res publica]]'', no matter how extended and ill-defined his competencies were. He is credited with splitting the imperial treasury, the [[fiscus]]. This splitting had to do with the division of imperial properties into two parts. Firstly, the fiscus itself, or ''patrimonium'', meaning the properties of the "Crown", the hereditary properties of each succeeding person that sat on the throne, transmitted to his successors in office,<ref>''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', London: 2012, {{ISBN|978-0-19-954556-8}}, entry "Patrimonium".</ref> regardless of their previous membership in the imperial family.<ref>After the death of [[Nero]], the personal properties of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] had been appropriated by the [[Flavian dynasty|Flavians]], and therefore turned into public properties: Carrié & Roussele, 586</ref> Secondly, the ''res privata'', the "private" properties tied to the personal maintenance of the emperor and his family,<ref>Carrié & Rousselle, 586</ref> something like a [[Privy Purse]]. An anecdote in the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' biography, where Antoninus replies to Faustina (who complained about his stinginess) that "we have gained an empire [and] lost even what we had before," possibly relates to Antoninus's actual concerns at the creation of the ''res privata''.<ref>''The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 11: The High Empire, AD 70–192''. Cambridge U.P., 2009, {{ISBN|9780521263351}}, p. 150</ref> While still a private citizen, Antoninus had increased his personal fortune significantly using various legacies, the consequence of his caring scrupulously for his relatives.<ref>Edward Champlin, ''Final Judgments: Duty and Emotion in Roman Wills, 200 B.C.&nbsp;– A.D. 250''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991, {{ISBN|0-520-07103-4}}, p. 98</ref> Also, Antoninus left behind him a reputation for stinginess and was probably determined not to leave his personal property to be "swallowed up by the demands of the imperial throne".{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=71}}

The ''res privata'' lands could be sold and/or given away, while the ''patrimonium'' properties were regarded as public.<ref>David S. Potter, ''The Roman Empire at Bay''. London: Routledge, 2014, {{ISBN|978-0-415-84054-5}}, p. 49</ref> It was a way of pretending that the Imperial function—and most properties attached to it—was a public one, formally subject to the authority of the Senate and the Roman people.<ref>Heinz Bellen, "Die 'Verstaatlichung' des Privatvermögens der römische Kaiser". Hildegard Temporini, ed., ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'', Berlin: De Gruyter, 1974, {{ISBN|3-11-004571-0}}, p. 112</ref> That the distinction played no part in subsequent political history—that the ''personal'' power of the [[princeps]] absorbed his role as office-holder—proves that the autocratic logic of the imperial order had already subsumed the old republican institutions.<ref>Aloys Winterling, ''Politics and Society in Imperial Rome''. Malden, MA: John Wiley & sons, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-4051-7969-0}}, pp. 73–75</ref>

Of the public transactions of this period, there is only the scantiest of information. However, to judge by what is extant, those twenty-two years were not remarkably eventful compared to those before and after the reign.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} However, Antoninus did take a great interest in the revision and practice of the law throughout the empire.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=526}} One of his chief concerns was to having local communities conform their legal procedures to existing Roman norms: in a case concerning the repression of banditry by local police officers ("[[Eirenarch|irenarchs]]", Greek for "peacekeepers") in Asia Minor, Antoninus ordered that these officers should not treat suspects as already condemned, and also keep a detailed copy of their interrogations, to be used in the possibility of an appeal to the Roman governor.<ref>Clifford Ando, ''Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284: The Critical Century''. Edinburgh University Press, 2012, {{ISBN|978-0-7486-2050-0}}, p. 91</ref> Also, although Antoninus was not an innovator, he would not always follow the absolute letter of the law. Rather, he was driven by concerns over humanity and equality and introduced into [[Roman law]] many important new principles based upon this notion.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=526}}

In this, the emperor was assisted by five chief lawyers: [[Lucius Fulvius Aburnius Valens]], an author of legal treatises;<ref>John Anthony Crook, ''Consilium Principis: Imperial Councils and Counsellors from Augustus to Diocletian''. Cambridge U.P.: 1955, p. 67</ref> [[Lucius Ulpius Marcellus]], a prolific writer; and three others.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=526}} Of these three, the most prominent was [[Lucius Volusius Maecianus]], a former military officer turned by Antoninus into a civil procurator, and who, given his subsequent career (discovered on the basis of epigraphical and prosopographic research), was the emperor's most important legal adviser.<ref>A. Arthur Schiller, ''Roman Law: Mechanisms of Development''. The Hague: Mouton, 1978, {{ISBN|90-279-7744-5}}, p. 477</ref> Maecianus would eventually be chosen to occupy various prefectures (see below) as well as to conduct the legal studies of Marcus Aurelius. He also authored an extensive work on ''Fidei commissa'' (Testamentary Trusts). As a hallmark of the increased connection between jurists and the imperial government,<ref>George Mousourakis, ''Roman Law and the Origins of the Civil Law Tradition'', Heidelberg: Springer, {{ISBN|978-3-319-12267-0}}, p. 79</ref> Antoninus's reign also saw the appearance of the ''[[Institutes of Gaius|Institutes]]'' of [[Gaius (jurist)|Gaius]], an elementary legal textbook for beginners.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=526}}
[[File:INC-1833-a Ауреус Антонин Пий ок. 153-154 гг. (аверс).png|thumb|Gold [[aureus]] of Antoninus, 153 AD. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XVII]]
Antoninus passed measures to facilitate the [[Manumission|enfranchisement]] of [[Slavery in ancient Rome|slaves]].{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=527}} Mostly, he favoured the principle of ''favor libertatis'', giving the putative freedman the benefit of the doubt when the claim to freedom was not clear-cut.<ref>Keith Bradley, ''Slavery and Society at Rome''. Cambridge University Press: 1994, {{ISBN|9780521263351}}, p. 162</ref> Also, he punished the killing of a slave by their master without previous trial<ref>Aubert, Jean-Jacques. "L'esclave en droit romain ou l'impossible réification de l'homme". Esclavage et travail forcé, ''Cahiers de la Recherche sur les droits fondamentaux'' (CRDF). Vol. 10. 2012.</ref> and determined that slaves could be forcibly sold to another master by a [[proconsul]] in cases of consistent mistreatment.<ref>Anastasia Serghidou, ed. ''Fear of slaves, fear of enslavement in the ancient Mediterranean''. Presses Univ. Franche-Comté, 2007 {{ISBN|978-2-84867-169-7}}, p. 159</ref> Antoninus upheld the enforcement of contracts for selling of female slaves forbidding their further employment in prostitution.<ref>Jean-Michel Carrié & Aline Rousselle, ''L'Empire Romain en Mutation, des Sévères à Constantin, 192–337''. Paris: Seuil 1999, {{ISBN|2-02-025819-6}}, p. 290</ref> In criminal law, Antoninus introduced the important principle of the [[presumption of innocence]]—namely, that accused persons are not to be treated as guilty before trial,{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=527}} as in the case of the irenarchs (see above). Antoninus also asserted the principle that the trial was to be held and the punishment inflicted in the place where the crime had been committed. He mitigated the use of [[torture]] in examining slaves by certain limitations. Thus, he prohibited the application of torture to children under fourteen years, though this rule had exceptions.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=527}} However, it must be stressed that Antoninus ''extended'', using a [[rescript]], the use of torture as a means of obtaining evidence to pecuniary cases, when it had been applied up until then only in criminal cases.<ref>[[Digest (Roman law)|Digest]], 48.18.9, as quoted by Edward Peters, ''Torture'', Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996, {{ISBN|0-8122-1599-0}}, p. 29</ref> Also, already at the time torture of free men of low status (''humiliores'') had become legal, as proved by the fact that Antoninus exempted town councillors expressly from it, and also free men of high rank (''honestiores'') in general.<ref>Grant, pp. 154–155.</ref>

One highlight during his reign occurred in 148, with the 900th anniversary of the foundation of [[Rome]] being celebrated by hosting magnificent games in the city.{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=154}} It lasted many days, and a host of exotic animals were killed, including [[elephant]]s, [[giraffe]]s, [[tiger]]s, [[rhinoceros]]es, [[crocodile]]s and [[hippopotamus]]es. While this increased Antoninus's popularity, the frugal emperor had to debase the [[Roman currency]]. He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 89% to 83.5, the actual silver weight dropping from 2.88&nbsp;grams to 2.68&nbsp;grams.{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=155}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010210220413/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm Tulane University "Roman Currency of the Principate"]</ref>

Antoninus is a likely candidate for the Antoninus named multiple times in the [[Talmud]] as a friend of [[Rabbi]] [[Judah Ha-Nasi]].<ref name="f607">{{cite web | title=Esau the Ancestor of Rome|last=Simkovich|first=Malka | website=TheTorah.com | date=18 March 2025 | url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/esau-the-ancestor-of-rome | access-date=18 March 2025}}</ref><ref name="i615">{{cite journal | last=Naiweld | first=Ron | title=There Is Only One Other: The Fabrication of Antoninus in a Multilayered Talmudic Dialogue | journal=Jewish Quarterly Review | volume=104 | issue=1 | date=2014 | issn=1553-0604 | doi=10.1353/jqr.2014.0000 | pages=81–104}}</ref> In the Talmudic tractate ''[[Avodah Zarah]]'' 10a–b, Rabbi Judah—exceptionally wealthy and highly revered in Rome—shared a close friendship with a man named Antoninus (possibly Antoninus Pius), who frequently sought his counsel on spiritual (in this context, [[Judaism|Jewish]]), philosophical, and governance matters.<ref>A. Mischcon, Abodah Zara, p.10a Soncino, 1988. Mischcon cites various sources, "SJ Rappaport... is of opinion that our Antoninus is Antoninus Pius." Other opinions cited suggest "Antoninus" was [[Caracalla]], [[Lucius Verus]], or [[Alexander Severus]].</ref>