The 'Collatio' and the future of Rome

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitude of the authorship of the Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum towards the Roman Empire. It seems that the primary composition of the Collatio ought to be attributed to Jewish hands, and that the main character of the work was apologetic, to establish the primacy of Mosaic Law on Roman law. While the first redaction of the Collatio probably dates to the days of Diocletian, and its primary audience was, on the main, Jewish and Pagan, yet, the message of the Collatio continued to assume a tangible value all along the fourth century, when the Roman Empire became Christian. Thus, the work was partially rewritten to fit in the new sociopolitical conditions. Probably, by then, the audience mirrored this change. Through an analysis of the first chapter, or titulus, it is possible to throw light on the diachronic vision of the past, present, and future of Rome uphold by the Jewish author of the Collatio. The image of the past and the present of Rome are intermingled. Thus, according to the author of the Collatio, the Roman Empire acquired the rule of oikoumenè as its laws emulated those of Moses, reflecting a Divine purpose. Yet, the uncertain future of Rome is problematic. The author envisioned for Rome a future, which was in fact a return to the past, the Golden Age of Roman Pagan jurisprudence. Besides, several similarities between this treatise and the more or less contemporary and parallel Historia Augusta, strengthen the ideological background, which can be attributed to the authorship of the Collatio. Thus, while for the anonymous author of the Collatio a happy and bright future for Rome, and for its Jews as well, is assured by the reiteration by the decisions taken by the Roman Pagan classic jurists, for the author of the Historia Augusta a positive future for the whole Empire is secured once the model embodies by the emperor Severus Alexander is taken as source of inspiration by the new Christian rulers. In either case, we are discussing a universal model valid for the future, but rooted in the past.