Ius Commune Podcast

This episode examines Merav Haklai’s Money in Imperial Rome: Legal Diversity and Systemic Complexity, focusing on her central claim that money in the Roman world was not merely coinage but a legal and cognitive framework shaped by juristic reasoning. Rather than treating the Roman economy as either fully “modern” or socially embedded and pre-market, Haklai shows how Roman private law actively structured monetized exchange through precise doctrinal distinctions.The discussion explores how jurists defined pretium and merces, insisting on money as the proper price in sale while negotiating more flexible forms of remuneration in other contracts. These debates reveal that monetization was not assumed but constructed through legal categories. A comparative perspective with Jewish legal sources highlights the coexistence of multiple normative systems within the empire, reinforcing the book’s broader argument: Roman monetary order functioned as a complex, plural legal ecosystem in which diversity and standardization operated together.

What happened when Roman law—crafted for citizens and slaves of the ancient world—was revived to justify colonial domination centuries later? In this episode, we explore how early modern thinkers like Hugo Grotius reinterpreted Roman legal categories to structure Dutch imperial rule, and how these ideas took shape in the colonial reality of Curaçao. Legal historians Jacob Giltaij and Christine Mertens (University of Amsterdam) discuss their project Servus, which traces the global afterlife of the Roman servus, uncovering how concepts born in Antiquity continued to define freedom, subjection, and race across the Atlantic world.

Emilia talks with with Prof. Kaius Tuori about how Roman law served as a unifying force in post-war Europe. Prof. Tuori traces Roman law's role back to German legal scholars exiled in Britain during the Nazi regime. After the war, Roman law's legacy of shared legal principles offered a foundation for reiminaging Europe, both politically and legally.

In this episode, Emilia sits down with Professor Gialdroni to discuss medieval commercial law and the lex mercatoria. They also discuss Professor Gialdroni's latest project on the topic, including her innovative use of language.

Professors Caroline Humfress and Patrick Olivelle join the podcast to discuss their new project, "The Cambridge Comparative History of Ancient Law."

In this episode, we explore the project “The Making of Local Legal Cultures under Rome,” featuring an interview with Professor's Yair Furstenberg, from the Hebrew university in Jerusalem. The project examines how communities in the Greek East negotiated their legal identities amid Roman imperial authority, revealing that law was not a vacuum but a contested space where local customs and Roman practice interested. By integrating early rabbinic literature as a key source, the project sheds light on Jewish jurisprudence and its role in provincial law-making. Through a multi-dimensional analysis of various legal traditions, including legal papyrology and Roman law, the project aims to uncover how these local legal cultures expressed agency and self-determination, ultimately contributing to a richer understanding of cultural and political distinctions under Roman rule. Join us for an enlightening discussion on the complexities of law, identity, and power in antiquity.