PATRIA ET POTESTAS: The Power of the Father (Roman Law Series)

A legacy stolen by law. A father’s power without limits. A student caught in the crossfire of Rome’s greatest legal minds.Rome, 155 CE. In the quiet, amber-lit study of the jurisconsult Marcus Herennius Pulvillus, the law is an art form—a precise architecture of persons, things, and actions. But for Quintus Naevius Scauro, the law has become a cage.Twenty years ago, Scauro was a rising star of the equestrian rank, independent and ambitious. Enticed by the promise of a vast senatorial inheritance, he consented to adrogatio—a rare legal ceremony that submerged his identity into the absolute power (patria potestas) of the wealthy Lucius Cornelius Varus. He traded his freedom for a future that has now turned to ash.Now forty, Scauro finds himself a "son" in name only, while his adoptive father systematically strips him of his inheritance. Having lost his birthright to his natural family and facing a future of legal non-existence, Scauro poses a dangerous question to Pulvillus: Can the law correct a betrayal that was technically legal?As Pulvillus and his brilliant young student Trebonius navigate the complex web of the Praetor’s Edict, they must bridge the gap between strict civil law and the elusive "art of the good and the equitable." From the ancient rituals of the Comitia Curiata to the high-stakes hearings before the Roman magistrates, Patria et Potestas is a gripping intellectual thriller that explores the thin line between family and property, authority and tyranny.Perfect for fans of Steven Saylor and Robert Harris, this third installment of the Roman Law Series is a meticulously researched journey into the heart of the ancient world’s legal system. Read more