The Interaction Between Roman Ius Civile and Local Provincial Legal Tradition - Papyri P. Yadin 21 and P. Yadin 22 as Roman Stipulatio

• Author: Valéria Terézia Dančiaková
• Position: Comenius University Bratislava
• Pages: 69-81

BRATISLAVA

LAW

REVIEW

PUBLISHED BY

THE FACULTY OF LAW,

COMENIUS UNIVERSITY

BRATISLAVA

ISSN (print): 2585-7088

ISSN (electronic): 2644-6359

THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ROMAN IUS CIVILE AND LOCAL

PROVINCIAL LEGAL TRADITION: PAPYRI P. YADIN 21 AND P.

YADIN 22 AS ROMAN STIPULATIO / Valéria Terézia Dančiaková

Mgr. et Mgr. Valéria Terézia Dančiaková,

PhD.

Comenius University Bratislava,

Faculty of Law

Department of Roman Law and

Ecclesiastical Law,

Šafárikovo nám. 6,

818 00 Bratislava, Slovakia.

valeria.terezia.danciakova@uniba.sk

ORCID: 0000-0003-0627-0960

Abstract:

When Babatha, a Jewish woman living in Maoza,

conducted her legal affairs in the early second century CE, her

homeland was already under the rule of the Romans as the

province of Arabia Petraea. Although people were granted the

right to use their original legal system, the situation with respect

to legal disputes was not that straightforward. The nearest

judiciary authority was the appointed Roman governor. Since

Babatha was not a Roman citizen, in case of litigation, the

governor would apply ius gentium, which was, in fact, more of an

idea than a specific legal system. The Greek documents in the

Archive are a precious testimony not only for the life of Babatha

herself but also for how Roman dominion over various regions

influenced how local legal affairs were conducted. The

discussion continues relating the archive, whether traces of the

Roman ius civile can be found in the papyri, and if so, what it

means considering the law that was used in the provinces. The

papyri P. Yadin 21 and P. Yadin 22 are presented as purchase and

sale, which, however, poses a question as to what tradition lies

behind the contract. In this article, we want to present how the

Roman ius civile could possibly interact with local provincial legal

tradition on the example of the papyri P. Yadin 21 and P. Yadin 22,

comparing them to the Roman contracts, treating the possible

use of stipulatio.

Submitted:

07 April 2023

Accepted:

13 December 2023

Published:

07 July 2024

Key words: Ius Civile; Babatha Archive; Stipulation; P. Yadin 21; P.

Yadin 22; Roman law

Suggested citation:

Dančiaková, V. T. (2024). The Interaction Between Roman Ius Civile

and Local Provincial Legal Tradition: Papyri P. Yadin 21 and

P. Yadin 22 as Roman Stipulatio. Bratislava Law Review, 8(1), 69-

82. https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2024.8.1.373

1. INTRODUCTION

The discovery of the Babatha Archive (along with the Salome Komais Archive)

can undoubtedly be compared to (and in fact was) to finding an extremely valuable

treasure. It is not a treasure of gold and precious stones, but a treasure made up of

documents relating to the everyday life of a Jewish woman and her family in Arabia

Petraea, one of the Roman provinces added to the empire in 106 AD, former Nabatean

Kingdom. It has even greater value for us, Roman law researchers, as it contains various

documents of a legal nature, such as contracts or documents relating to legal procedure

(summons, petitions). We would argue that all the documents of legal character included