{"product_id":"murder-was-not-a-crime-homicide-and-power-in-the-roman-republic-paperback","title":"Murder Was Not a Crime: Homicide and Power in the Roman Republic - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJudy E. Gaughan\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmbarking on a unique study of Roman criminal law, Judy Gaughan has developed a novel understanding of the nature of social and political power dynamics in republican government. Revealing the significant relationship between political power and attitudes toward homicide in the Roman republic, \u003ci\u003eMurder Was Not a Crime\u003c\/i\u003e describes a legal system through which families (rather than the government) were given the power to mete out punishment for murder.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith implications that could modify the most fundamental beliefs about the Roman republic, Gaughan's research maintains that Roman criminal law did not contain a specific enactment against murder, although it had done so prior to the overthrow of the monarchy. While kings felt an imperative to hold monopoly over the power to kill, Gaughan argues, the republic phase ushered in a form of decentralized government that did not see itself as vulnerable to challenge by an act of murder. And the power possessed by individual families ensured that the government would not attain the responsibility for punishing homicidal violence.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing on surviving Roman laws and literary sources, \u003ci\u003eMurder Was Not a Crime\u003c\/i\u003e also explores the dictator Sulla's \"murder law,\" arguing that it lacked any government concept of murder and was instead simply a collection of earlier statutes repressing poisoning, arson, and the carrying of weapons. Reinterpreting a spectrum of scenarios, Gaughan makes new distinctions between the paternal head of household and his power over life and death, versus the power of consuls and praetors to command and kill.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJudy E. Gaughan teaches at Colorado State University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 214\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.49 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 15, 2010\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51754130669856,"sku":"9780292725676","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/7b46d6ffa6dbb910108acb35635f664d.webp?v=1780034050","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/murder-was-not-a-crime-homicide-and-power-in-the-roman-republic-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}