Ulpian
Ulpian, a prominent Roman jurist from the East, is recognized as one of the last canonical jurists of ancient Rome, with more than 280 works attributed to him. Born around 172 CE, he likely hailed from Tyre and had a family background that had been granted Roman citizenship. Ulpian served in various roles in the legal and political arenas, including as a libellis (secretary for petitions) under Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and later as the praefectus annonae, responsible for grain supply. His most significant contributions to Roman law include extensive commentaries on the praetor's edict and the Ad Sabinum, reflecting the legal clarifications needed after the Antonine constitution of 212 CE, which expanded Roman citizenship. Despite a turbulent career, including an alleged exile and a violent end at the hands of the Praetorian Guards, Ulpian's influence on Roman law remains profound. His work constitutes approximately 40 percent of the Digest of Justinian, underscoring his lasting legacy in the legal tradition.
Ulpian
Related civilization: Imperial Rome
Major role/position: Lawyer
Life
Ulpian (UHL-pee-uhn) is one of the last of the canonical Roman jurists and perhaps the most prolific, with more than 280 works attributed to him. Yet despite the extent of his writings, little can be ascertained with certainty about his life. That he was born in the East, probably Tyre, of a family long since granted the Roman franchise is only a learned conjecture, and his putative birth date of 172 c.e. is a backdating from his association with Papinian as an assessor (along with his rival jurist, Paul) during the latter’s praetorian prefecture. Ulpian at some point (possibly 202-209 c.e.) held the post a libellis (secretary for petitions) under Lucius Septimius Severus, and he accompanied Severus on his military expeditions to Parthia and Britain. After Severus’s death, Ulpian appears to have held no major offices under his successor, Caracalla, but rather devoted himself to writing. The great bulk of his work dates from this period, including his famous commentaries on the praetor’s edict, Ad edictum praetoris (third century c.e.; in Rules of Ulpian, 1880), in eighty-one books, as well as his Ad Sabinum (third century c.e.; in Rules of Ulpian, 1880), in fifty-one books. It has been theorized that much of this work was undertaken at the behest of the new emperor in order to clarify the Roman law for the new citizens enrolled by the Constitutio Antoniana, or Antonine constitution, which made Roman citizens of all free men and women in the empire of 212 c.e.
Ulpian was allegedly exiled, along with Paul, during the reign of Elegabalus, but this cannot be proved. He was clearly restored to power during the subsequent reign of Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, holding office as praefectus annonae (responsible for corn supply), then occupying some sort of extraordinary prefecture above the two praetorian prefects. For reasons unclear (possibly as a preemptive strike against men he believed were plotting against him), he executed the two praetorian prefects and became sole prefect, an office he maintained from late 222 c.e. until his own murder by the Praetorian Guards in mid-summer 223 c.e. The motives of the praetorians are not clear, although historian Dio Cassius claims that Ulpian was attempting to shore up the guard’s notoriously lax discipline.
Influence
Ulpian’s imprint can be seen in every area of Roman law. Most famously, citations from his work make up an estimated 40 percent of Justinian I’s Digesta, also known as Pandectae (533 c.e.; The Digest of Justinian, 1920).
Bibliography
Honore, Tony. Ulpian. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1982.
Robinson, Olivia F. The Sources of Roman Law: Problems and Methods for Ancient Historians. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Wells, Colin. The Roman Empire. 2d ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992.