Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Romans overview
500BC-AD400
- Crimes and
Punishments
- Prison sentences were
used to hold those awaiting
trial
- Over time Roman punishments
became more violent, including
amputations and death by
pouring molten lead down the
convicts throat
- Crucifixion was used for Christian, jews and slaves, for
those who refused to recognise the Emperor as a
leader or god and so made an example of
- Capital Punishment crimes included,
Arson, Murder, Treason, Stealing farm
animals or from the temple
- Capital Punishments included,
Crucifixion, burning at the stake and
being sent to the gladiator rings
- Corporal Punishment crimes included
theft and under-weight breed
- Corporal Punishment included, Flogging, Fines,
exile and building/rebuilding buildings
- Nobleman had the option to take the
punishment of exile rather than
execution as their social status
allows them option towards their
punishments
- All slaves in a household were crucified if only one of
them murdered or attempted murder towards their
master.
- They could present evidence at trial but had to be tortured first
to have the status of citizenship which they could then present
their evidence
- Legionnaries who ran away from the battle field faced execution and
the legions they came from 1 in 10 men were executed and chosen by
lot to make an example of
- Law of the Romans
- Roman laws covered every aspect of Roman life
- The Roman's law enforcement forces' main task
was to punish
- There were laws to make Roman towns a better place
- Making sure householders kept the streets
outside their homes clean and Dumping
waste into rivers were crimes
- First recorded laws were
the Twelve tables
- around 450BC
- Children learnt them at school
- Law enforcers
- Originally there was no policing methods
however as the Empire expanded Emperor
Augustus set up forces to police Rome.
- Vigiles (7000 men) - Their
main duty was to prevent and
put out fires
- Urban Cohorts (3000
soldiers) - Their main job was
to keep order in the streets by
stopping riots
- Praetorian Guards - The Emperor's household
guards. They were used in emergencies to protect
the Emperor
- Reasons for Methods used
- The Romans did try
to solve the
problems of crime
- But did
nothing to
solve the
problems of
poverty and
overcrowding
which were the
main root
causes of the
crimes
- Executions
were used
because they
were cheap and
would frighten
other away from
crime especially
if they were
violent
- Prisons were
expensive to run
so were only
used for those
awaiting trial as
the government
were scared that
people would riot
if they raised
taxes
- Boudicca's revolt
- 1. King of the Iceni died,
the romans took land
and looted homes
- 2. When
Bouddica
protested she
was Flogged and
her Daughter's
raped
- 3. Bouddicca led a rebellion of the
Iceni and other tribes joined her
against the Romans
- 4. Suetonius Paulinus gathered an
army of 10,000 men but were much
smaller than the rebel's army.
- He sacrificed London to gather
more men
- 5. Boudicca's army raced to
the attack but when they
started to retreat they were
trapped by their own families
of spectators and their
wagons
- 6. The Romans initial
reactions were to slaughter
the rebels and their
families. However after
this revolt they began to
Romanise them and kill
any who rebel
- The Fall of the Romans
- Reasons for the Collapse
- Civil War -weak government
- Failure to absorb non-roman
immagrates
- Clash of civilisation - was
weakened by the Empire
- Barbarian Invaders
- Plague and disease
- economy collapse
- the romans were more interested
in the entertainment of the
colosseum and ampitheatres
- Impact upon law and order
- without the roman army to enforce the roman system
failed to operate and civilisation ceased to exsist
- Without the Roman legions defending the Roman provices, the barbarian tribes
such as the anglo-saxons invaded the abandoned provinces and so they
brought over their own laws and methods of policing
- The legion left in AD410 due to the sacking of Rome in the 5th Century
- Also, during the transition periods crime increased as this caused a time of lawlessness