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The law school of Berytus (also known as the law school of Beirut) was a center for the study of Roman law in classical antiquity located in Berytus (modern-day Beirut, Lebanon). It flourished under the patronage of the Roman emperors and functioned as the Roman Empire's preeminent center of jurisprudence until its destruction in AD 551.
Oct 14, 2021 · Formal legal education flourished in the law school of Berytus (today Beirut, Lebanon) in the Roman province of Syria centuries before the first Western law school opened its doors at the University of Bologna (about 1088) and the first American law school in Litchfield, Connecticut (1784).
The law school of Berytus was a center for the study of Roman law in classical antiquity located in Berytus. It flourished under the patronage of the Roman emperors and functioned as the Roman Empire's preeminent center of jurisprudence until its destruction in AD 551.
Extant ancient texts provide a list of the names and deeds of some of the law school of Berytus's professorial body. Seven of the most notable Berytus (modern Beirut) professors were styled "Ecumenical Masters"; they were largely responsible for the revival of legal education in the Eastern Roman Empire.
Berytus was famous for its law school, which was founded by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in 200 A.D, and was the first school of Roman Law in the eastern Empire. The law school existed until the destruction of the city by earthquakes around 551 A.D.
The Berytian law school was widely known in the Roman Empire;: it was famous the Latin motto Berytus Nutrix Legum ("Beirut, Mother of Laws"). Indeed, two of Rome's most famous jurists, Papinian and Ulpian, both natives of Phoenicia, taught there under the Severan emperors.
Berytus sheds light on the city as a commercial center and a Roman colony, focusing on the origins and function of the “very noble School of Law” – one of the oldest Phoenician academies.
