Torture of citizens was generally not allowed during the Republic, but that changed in the later Empire after citizenship was extended to almost all free people by Caracalla. Torture was used more in the Principate when the emperors ruled. A Roman citizen could appeal against being tortured. However, it was standard for treason, even for citizens. During the Republic and early Empire, being a Roman citizen was tremendously valuable for anyone accused of a crime.
Citizens were tried in different courts than noncitizens, and much milder punishments were meted out for conviction of identical crimes. Beheading instead of crucifixion, exile instead of slavery in the mines or quarries until you were worked to death: being a citizen had tremendous advantages. The benefit of citizenship is dramatically displayed in the fates of the apostles, Peter and Paul.
Peter, a Jew from the province of Judaea, was crucified by Nero while Paul, a Roman citizen from Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, was merely? Sentences after conviction of a crime Sentences were divided into two general categories. The convicted criminal could be condemned to physical labor or to immediate execution. Sentenced to physical labor For relatively minor crimes, a person might be condemned to work on public projects for a fixed period of time.
Projects included building roads, maintaining aqueducts, and cleaning and maintaining sewers and public accommodations such as latrines and public baths. The convicted person did not lose Roman citizenship and was released after the labor was completed. During the Principate early Empire , new types of condemnation to labor were in essence slow death sentences. One such sentence was damnatio in metalla or damnatio ad metalla. This stripped the convicted persons of citizenship and made them penal slaves.
Senators and equestrians generally received milder sentences than the common people. The upper classes were often allowed to go into exile instead of to the mines. There were two levels of exile. With relegatio , the convicted person was expelled from Rome or a province but retained citizenship and usually retained property.
With deportatio , the convicted one lost citizenship and property and was banished to a specific remote place. A second mostly fatal sentence was damnatio ad gladium. The convicted person was stripped of citizenship and might be sent to gladiator school to fight as a penal slave. While those condemned to the sword would usually be killed during their first appearance in the arena, men condemned to the games could survive as long as they fought well enough.
In theory, it was possible to earn freedom if you could avoid being killed long enough for the crowd to want you freed. Some were executed in a serial fashion where two prisoners were paired, one armed with a sword and the other not.
The armed man killed the unarmed. He was then disarmed and a new armed prisoner killed him. The process was repeated until the last prisoner was executed for the entertainment of the crowds that day. Sentenced to death For a Roman citizen, the most common mode of execution was beheading.
Noncitizens, free or slave, were not so fortunate. There were several especially severe forms of execution called summa supplicia. Crucifixion crusis supplicium was generally reserved for non-citizens and slaves. During the early Republic, it was used for incest and treason. It was always used for slave revolts. The consul Crassus who defeated the slave army of Spartacus had men crucified along miles of the Appian Way approaching Rome from the south.
It proved an effective deterrent. That was the last major slave revolt. Burning alive was used for arsonists and treachery. When Nero accused the Christians of starting the fire of AD 64, he chose to execute many by using them as torches in his garden.
Being fed to the beasts in the arena damnatio ad bestias was part of the morning program in the arenas of the Empire. Anyone fed to beasts lost all rights as a citizen, could not write a will, and had their property confiscated. Damnatio ad gladium condemned to the sword sent one into the arena to die in combat.
In the more extreme form, the condemned man was forced to keep fighting a new opponent until one finally killed him. After a flogging, the murderer was sewn into a leather sack with a dog, a viper, a rooster, and a monkey. The viper was standard, but the other animals may have varied over time. The sack was then thrown into the nearest body of water deep enough for drowning or suffocation if the sack was sufficiently watertight.
The Tiber was used in Rome, but any river or ocean could be used. Christians classified as among the worst criminals While Christians were regarded as a sect of Judaism for the first few years, they were partially tolerated by the state.
That soon changed. Nero used the Christians as scapegoats for the fire of AD 64 that burned large areas of Rome, killing many for his own entertainment in his private circus.
Why was being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth considered a heinous crime by the Roman authorities, condemning them to damnatio ad bestias in arenas around the Empire? There were several reasons based on Roman law. When it became mandatory to honor images of the emperor with libations and incense, they refused.
Jews also refused, but they were allowed to do so by special exception as members of an officially sanctioned religion. When enough Gentiles became Christians and believers broke with following the details of Mosaic Law, Christianity was no longer considered a sect of Judaism.
Under the rules of the Twelve Tables, Christians followed a new, foreign, and unauthorized religion religio nova, peregrina et illicita. The state religion was dependent on the rituals being performed correctly, regardless of the personal beliefs of those celebrating. There was a strong element of magic in the rituals, and the slightest mistake could render the ritual ineffective. The refusal of Christians to participate was, therefore, totally unacceptable.
Centurions commanded each century of infantry; a maniple would have two centurions, giving the Legion ten centurions per line of infantry, or thirty centurions in total.
Decurions commanded each cavalry turma. Following the Marian Reforms in B. The three lines of distinct infantry present in the Manipular Legion were abandoned in favor of the new legionnaires. Legions contained ten cohorts. Each cohort, roughly legionnaires, was subdivided into six centuries of eighty men each. Centuries were then divided into ten eight-man contubernia.
First cohorts contained five centuries, rather than the typical six, but each century was double strength; this led to a cohort of legionnaires, rather than the standard All non-legionary troops in the period following the Marian Reforms were referred to as auxilia. The auxilia equivalents of the cohorts were alae. Cavalry, now organized as auxilia units, grew to sixteen turmae.
The Friday trial at daybreak was to give semblance of legality to the decision of the night trial and to prepare to present the matter to Pilate. The high priest began the trial again, eliminating parts that had been unfruitful.
Jesus was questioned directly by the court, and again He testified that He was the Son of God. All claimed to witness the blasphemy. All arose and led Him to Pilate Luke Blasphemy was still the one and only charge. The Roman trial. Jesus was still condemned but not sentenced. As a jury, they brought the verdict of guilty, but Rome alone could legally give the sentence of death. Attempted evasion. The Jews hinted strongly that Pilate should yield to them the right of trial and exercise only his right of execution.
This was sometimes done by Rom. If Jesus was to be tried and sentenced by Rome, a new case must be made. Rome was not interested in blasphemy. Forced against their will and expectation to formulate a charge, the Jews began to pour forth vehement accusations. There were three main counts: perverting the nation, preventing the paying of tribute to Caesar, and saying that He is a king Luke Only the third impressed Pilate.
If it should be true, Jesus could be guilty of treason. If so, He must die. Rome knew no greater crime than treason. Examination and acquittal. Pilate returned to the Praetorium to examine Jesus.
Jesus admitted that He was a king, but explained to Pilate that He was not the kind of king that would seek to overthrow the government. His authority was in the realm of truth John This would have ended the trial if justice had been the object. Referral to Herod. When the Jews shouted all the more accusations, Pilate feared a hopeless impasse.
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