PAPINIAN

born AD 140, , probably at Emesa, Syria died 212 Latin in full Aemilius Papinianus Roman jurist who posthumously became the definitive authority on Roman law, possibly because his moral highmindedness was congenial to the worldview of the Christian rulers of the postclassical empire. Papinian held high public office under the emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (reigned AD 193211). He was killed at the order of Severus' son and successor, Caracalla, perhaps for refusing to supply a legal excuse for the new emperor's murder of his brother and political rival, Geta. The most important of Papinian's works are two collections of cases: Quaestiones (37 books) and Responsa (19 books). In the postclassical law schools, the third-year students, who were called Papinianistae, used the Responsa as the basis of the curriculum. The Law of Citations (AD 426) of the emperor Theodosius II made Papinian predominant among five classical jurists whose works were to be authoritative in legal proceedings. His books were written in precise and elegant Latin.