The decision of Septimius Severus and Caracalla on longi temporis praescriptio (BGU 267 and P.Strass. 22)

Abstract

In the provinces, the emperor is the representative of the centralized empire and in his decisions and regulations he therefore mainly used Roman law. The institute of long-lasting possession has a scholarly history of being traced back to either Roman or provincial law, and thus the debates encapsulate many of the recurring tensions between provincial practice and centralizing tendencies. Through a detailed study of two documents pertaining to the longi temporis praescriptio that record the decision of Septimius Severus and Caracalla (BGU 267 and P. Strass. 22), this article locates the origins of the institute firmly in a provincial context and explains how the emperor was confronted with the requirements of provincial legal practice.