Foedus

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The foedus (plural foedera ) has been the common form of the international treaty since the Roman Republic and an important instrument of Roman foreign policy until late antiquity .

history

A foedus was originally concluded primarily by the pater patratus from the college of priests of the fetials . This led to an oath - accompanied by a pig sacrifice - in which the Roman people as a whole would be cursed if they were to break the agreements. Due to its high status under international law , the ius fetiale was only used in exceptional cases. The historicity of this early foedera is, however, controversial in research.

In addition to the oath of the fetials, there was the general oath, also the oath of magistrates, in which the curse only hit the person taking the oath. The generals mostly used this form of oath during the campaigns, the oath gods and the oath ceremony could differ. Occasionally a handshake was enough for the ritual to dress the contract.

The two alternatives to swearing remained side by side during the period of the republic . Even at the time of M. Terentius Varro , the oath of the fetials was common practice and even during the early Principate, Emperor Claudius sworn contracts in his capacity as pater patratus according to the rite of the fetials.

The generals of the republic could conclude foedera both as general contracts, in which case a personal oath was taken, and as a solemn promise ( sponsio ). A sponsio was not directly legally binding because it was subject to ratification reservation by the Senate , partly also under the conditions of its cooperation with the People's Assembly or the Magistrate . In terms of content, mutual military assistance was often agreed. A distinction was occasionally made between a foedus iniquum and a foedus aequum . The latter means the duty of assistance and mutual recognition among partners of equal value, the former means contracts between unequal partners, subjects in the sense of a dedication .

Foedera also differentiated factually: the foedus pacis served the conclusion of peace, the foedus societatis the formation of alliances, the foedus amicitiae causa factum formed the basis for friendships between states. According to Theodor Mommsen , all of the oaths described were provided.

During the Principate, the control of foreign policy was increasingly concentrated on the Princeps , who had a barely limited legal and political right to conclude a contract. In the sources, the foedus denotes a general treaty that the Romans concluded with non-Romans at least since the High Imperial Era; With the Sassanids in particular, several foedera were concluded and oathed between the 3rd and 6th centuries , some of which were merely peace agreements, but some also contained obligations to provide assistance or tributes .

Foedera were also closed with barbarians, such as Goths or Huns . Non-Roman warrior groups who, after completing a foedus, were given the right to a grain supply ( annona ) or were given the right to settle in Roman territory and were therefore obliged to serve in the army, were called foederati in late antiquity . It is disputed whether this late antique foedera (either de iure or de facto ) expired as soon as one of the two contractual partners died.

See also

The word went into the following terms:

Remarks

  1. Titus Livius 1:24.
  2. Rom-Alba, Liv. 1.24; Rome Latins, Dion Hal. 6.21; Partizier plebeians, Dion Hal. 6,88f .; Rome-Carthage, Liv. 30.43.9.
  3. However, this confirmation sacrifice is reflected in the Latin language. For in the expressions foedus icere and foedus ferire (to form an alliance ) the two processes, establishment of the alliance and killing - ícere and ferire - of the sacrificial animal are expressed.
  4. So Polybios 3, 25, 6 ff. For the supposedly first treaty between Rome and Carthage.
  5. a b Andreas Zack: Studies on Römischen Völkerrecht , Edition Ruprecht Göttingen 2nd edition 2007 (more recent fundamental attempt at historical systematization according to Eugen Täubler ) p. 52 ff .; P. 190 ff.
  6. Marcus Terentius Varro : De origine linguae Latinae , 5, 86.
  7. ^ Suetonius : Claudius 25, 5.
  8. Titus Livius 34, 57, 7 ff .; and 28, 34, 7; Sextus Pomponius in Digest 49, 15, 5 pr. 1 f.
  9. Titus Livius 1:38 on the character of the deditio .
  10. ^ Sixtus Pomponius in Digest 49, 15, 5 pr. 1 f.

literature

  • Karl-Heinz Ziegler : History of International Law: A Study Book , 2nd Edition Munich 2007.
  • Karl-Heinz Ziegler: On international law in Roman antiquity , in: Iurisprudentia universalis: Festschrift for Theo Mayer-Maly , 2002, pp. 933-944.
  • Alfred Heuss : The international legal foundations of Roman foreign policy in republican times , Leipzig 1933 reprint Aalen 1963 ( basis of modern research ).
  • Raimund Schulz: The development of Roman international law in the 4th and 5th centuries AD ( Hermes individual writings ), Stuttgart 1993.
  • Andreas Zack: Studies on "Römischen Völkerrecht" , Edition Ruprecht Göttingen 2nd edition 2007 (more recent fundamental attempt at historical systematization according to Eugen Täubler)
  • Andreas Zack: Research on the legal basis of Roman foreign relations during the republic up to the beginning of the principle. Part IX: The participation of the populus Romanus in the conclusion of contracts between Rome and the outside world - the system and the stages of its historical development, GFA 20, 2017, 39-111 (https://gfa.gbv.de/z/2017).