Linder A. The Jews in Roman imperial legislation

Wayne State University Press, 1987. — 437 p. — ISBN: 0-8143-1809-6.Originally published in Hebrew by The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1983.Historians are unanimous in recognizing the important contribution of Roman law to the evolution of the attitudes adopted by non-Jewish
society towards Jews since the second century, yet research in this field has been impeded to a considerable extent by the absence of a complete collection of the relevant legislative texts.
The following aims have determined the book's structure and content:
Collecting all Roman law texts issued between the second and the sixth centuries dealing specifically with Jews. Legislation and codification
in some of the Germanic states in the West, which form a part of the second volume in this series, have been excluded from the present collection.
Distinguishing between the different types of texts as a prerequisite to their proper evaluation as historical evidence. The basic types
as well as the principal sources are discussed in Chapter 1.
Reconstructing the original laws from the partial and edited versions contained in the Codes.
Discussing each law and its particular context, i.e., the circumstances that resulted in its adoption, the interested parties and their
roles and aims; the process and chronology of legislation; the text in its different aspects (linguistic, legal, ideological, political, operative,
etc.); and the law's actual implementation, its direct effect, and the extent as well as the duration of its validity.
Identifying the effects of each law on future legislation and codification.
Translating the texts, with a particular emphasis on preserving the unique rhetorical style which characterizes late Roman legislation.
Providing select representative bibliographies to accompany each text.
Sketching the main outlines of the historical evidence to be gathered from these laws (in Chapter 2).