WILL POWER

The Twelve Tables of 450 BC had one of its sections dedicated to inheritance. A thousand years later. Justinian’s Digest dedicated yet another chapter to refining those ideas. This intense legal focus was because inheritance was a major issue for Romans throughout the existence of the Roman state.

Philip Matyszak

One reason why inheritance was more important to the Romans than it is for us today is that ancient Rome was a more stratified society. Wealth was more often inherited than acquired and repeated disputes over last wills and testaments led to Roman inheritance law becoming ever more refined and complex. A Roman will was a very specific legal document, and even a small error in drafting could lead to a will being declared invalid. Nevertheless, it was considered the social duty of any competent Roman adult to make a will and to deposit it somewhere safe, often in a temple. Tampering was prevented by the interesting technique of having two copies of the will. There was a ‘public’ document which faced outward and contained all the will’s provisions, and…

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Ancient History (Digital) - 1 Issue, AH 48

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