The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337: A Sourcebook

The army, the local community, the law 157
if Aquila’s daughter had been born from an unofficial liaison during military
service.
259 Gaius (2nd C.AD), Institutes 2. 109–10
But this strict observance of legal formalities in the drawing up of wills
has been relaxed through imperial decisions in respect of soldiers because
of their extreme ignorance. For even though they do not employ the
established number of witnesses, or transfer their property, or formally
announce their wills, nevertheless their testamentary dispositions are
valid. Moreover, they are permitted to institute as heirs both non-
Romans and Latins or to leave them legacies, although as a general
rule non-Romans are prohibited from taking an inhertitance or legacies
by the process of civil law, and Latins by the Junian law.
Soldiers will usually have formed liaisons with local women who were not
Roman citizens, and any children will therefore have been non-Romans. The
concession described by Gaius, which was not extended to civilians, enabled
soldiers to institute their ‘wives’ or children as heirs or legatees. Gaius thought
that this was one of a series of measures taken by emperors to alleviate the
problems of soldiers. It was presumably introduced earlier than the reign of
Marcus Aurelius when Gaius probably finished the Institutes and perhaps should
be ascribed to Trajan, who is known to have confirmed and extended the legal
privileges that soldiers enjoyed in making a will (text no. 263).
260 BGU 140=Smallwood NH 333, papyrus, Egypt, AD 119
Copy of a letter [of the emperor] translated [into Greek, which] was
displayed in [year] three of Trajan Hadrian Augustus during the
consulship of Publius Aelius (Hadrian) for the third time and Rusticus,
in [ _ _ _ ], in the winter camp of Legion III Cyrenaica and Legion XXII
Deioteriana, on 4 August, which is 11 Mesore, at the headquarters
building:
I know, my dear Rammius (Quintus Rammius Martialis, prefect of
Egypt, AD 117–19), that children whom their parents accepted as their
offspring during their military service, have been prevented from
succeeding to their father’s property, and that this was not considered
severe since they had acted contrary to military discipline. Personally I
am very happy to establish principles by which I may interpret more
benevolently the rather harsh ruling of the emperors before me.
Therefore, despite the fact that those children who were acknowledged
during military service are not the legitimate heirs of their fathers,
nevertheless I decide that they too are able to claim possession of the