Book contents
- Performing Justice in the Later Roman Empire
- Performing Justice in the Later Roman Empire
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Petitions
- Chapter 3 Parrhesia
- Chapter 4 Intercession
- Chapter 5 Riots
- Chapter 6 Ceremony and Power
- Postface
- References
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Chapter 2 - Petitions
Bureaucracy and Social Practice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2025
Book contents
- Performing Justice in the Later Roman Empire
- Performing Justice in the Later Roman Empire
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Petitions
- Chapter 3 Parrhesia
- Chapter 4 Intercession
- Chapter 5 Riots
- Chapter 6 Ceremony and Power
- Postface
- References
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Summary
This chapter argues that petitions have hitherto been too narrowly studied as bureaucratic acts defined by Roman law and shifts attention to informal petitions, whereby any superior could be petitioned even when they did not have formal power, and to oral petitions, whereby immediate justice was demanded. Petitions then appear as reflecting a culture of entreaty characteristic for a hierarchical society.
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- Performing Justice in the Later Roman Empire , pp. 26 - 50Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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