Delator
A delator ( Latin actually "Bringer, Anzeiger") was preferably a professional informer in the Roman Empire , who turned it into a trade in order to gain the favor of the emperors and personal advantages for himself.
history
Just in the 1st century AD the mischief of the Delators spread after the maiestas had passed from the Roman people to the Princeps under the rule of Augustus .
As a rule, people were denounced who were suspicious of the emperors or even just unpopular, in particular because of alleged libel of majesty . Delators appeared increasingly under the emperor Tiberius and subsequently exercised their pernicious, hatred and distrust-spreading effectiveness under emperors like Caligula and Domitian , while they were suppressed by exile or other punishments under emperors like Titus , Nerva , and Trajan .
The profit of a delator through the act of delation usually consisted of a quarter of the penalty imposed on the defendant or of his forfeited property, hence the name Quadruplator.
See also
literature
- Andrew W. Lintott: “Delator” and “index”. Informers and accusers at Rome from the republic to the early principate . In: The Accordia research papers . tape 9 , p. 105–122 (2001–2003; not evaluated).
- Yann Rivière: Les délateurs sous l'Empire romain . de Boccard, Paris 2002 ( Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome. 311. Not evaluated).
- Stephen H. Rutledge: Imperial Inquisitions. Prosecutors and informants from Tiberius to Domitian . Routledge, New York / London 2001, ISBN 0-415-23700-9 (not evaluated).