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Callistratus
AGLAIA MCCLINTOCK
Callistratus was a Roman jurist who lived in
the late second century and early third century
CE. No work of his survives except for the
many fragments included in Justinian’s Digest
(see DIGESTA). The Greek origin of his name,
the quality of his Latin, which modern scho-
lars consider not as elegant as that of the other
Severan jurists, the references to imperial leg-
islation in Greek with direct quotations, the
other citations of Greek literature found in
his work, all suggest not only that he came
from an eastern province and that he was edu-
cated in Greek culture but that his intended
audience was bilingual. One of these citations
is a passage from the second book of Plato’s
Republic (Dig. 50.11.2 = Lenel 21). Other liter-
ary echoes of Seneca and Cicero found in his
writings have led some scholars to conclude
that he had a knowledge of or even training
in philosophy. His background is clearly pro-
vincial. One piece of literary evidence of a bio-
graphical nature survives, in the Historia
Augusta (Vita Severi Alexandri 68) in which
Callistratus is said to have been a student of
the much more famous and admired PAPINIAN.
Modern scholars consider the source unrelia-
ble and some editors have even expunged
the lines referring to Callistratus. Therefore,
all the dependable information that can be
gathered on him comes from the excerpts of
his works included in the Digest. He is one
of the so-called juristes du silence in that he
is never cited by other Roman jurists although
he in turn refers to more than a few of them, if
not with the same frequency as his peers: for
example, he cites LABEO, SABINUS, JULIAN, Papir-
ius Fronto. Instead he is one of the jurists who
most cites imperial legislation: in the 108 frag-
ments included in the Digest there are at least
as many references to imperial constitutions
starting from the reign of CLAUDIUS (Dig.
40.15.4. = Lenel 80; Dig. 48.10.15 pr. = Lenel
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Edited by Kai Brodersen, Andrew Erskine, and David Hollander.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30653
96) up to that of SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS and
CARACALLA (Dig. 50.2.11 = Lenel 9; Dig.
1.19.3.2 = Lenel 41). These citations have led
scholars to believe that Callistratus must have
had a close link to the imperial chancery
where he retrieved this material. There is no
definitive evidence that he was employed in
the chancery, however.
Roman law scholars date Callistratus’ works
to the reigns of Septimius Severus and Cara-
calla. According to the Index Florentinus
he wrote:
De cognitionibus libri VI (six books On imperial
judicial hearings);
Ad edictum monitorium libri VI (six books On
the monitory edict: perhaps a traditional expo-
sition of the content of the provincial edict: the
title is unclear and no certain explanation can
be given);
De iure fisci IV (four books On tax law);
Institutionum libri III (three books of
Institutes);
Quaestionum libri II (two books of Questions
of law).
As demonstrated by his textbooks for stu-
dents (Institutiones and Quaestiones), Calli-
stratus had an interest in teaching law, as did
many other contemporary jurists. His special-
ity was the legal procedure characteristic of
the Severan period, the so-called cognitio extra
ordinem, or “trial outside the system,” in which
an imperial official served as judge. In his lar-
gest work, De cognitionibus, he attempts to give
a full picture and a systematic treatment of the
cognitio. Its surviving fragments show the flex-
ibility of the new procedure in which provincial
governors, just to offer one example, had wide
discretion on deciding the punishments to be
inflicted in criminal trials, whereas the penal-
ties of the traditional ordo iudiciorum were
fixed for each crime by the relevant statute.
Their discretion extended also to deciding the
method of proof and the importance assigned
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to oral or written testimony. Status and legal
privilege played a significant role and citizens
of the lower classes experienced very different
treatment from that accorded to the elite. It
seems likely that Callistratus’ discussion of
the procedural law to follow for tax matters
was highly innovative since his De iure fisci
appears to be the first dedicated treatment of
the subject. The work is recorded with a longer
title in Dig. 48.20.1 (an excerpt pertaining to
the property of condemned persons): De iure
fisci et populi. It is possible this was the original
title and was later abbreviated by Justinian’s
compilers.
SEE ALSO:
Law, books of; Law, Roman; Legislation,
Greek and Roman.
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Bonini, R. (1964) I “libri de cognitionibus” di Calli-
strato. Ricerche sull’elaborazione giurisprudenziale
della “cognitio extra ordinem.” Milan.
Honoré, T. (1962) “The Severan lawyers. A preliminary
survey.” Studia et documenta historiae et iuris 28:
162–232.
Kotz-Dobrz, W. v. (1918) “Callistratus.” In A. Pauly,
G. Wissowa, and W. Kroll eds., Realencyclopädie
der classischen Altertumswissenschaft Suppl. III:
225–9. Stuttgart.
Lenel, O. (1889) Palingenesia iuris civilis juris consul-
torum reliquiae quae Justiniani Digestis continen-
tur ceteraque juris prudentiae civilis fragmenta
minora secundum auctores et libros I: 81–106.
Leipzig.
Puliatti, S. (1992) Il “De iure fisci” di Callistrato e il
processo fiscale in età severiana. Milan.