Papinian

Papinian
Statue by Silvio Sbricoli, Palace of Justice of Rome
Birth name	Aemilius Paulus Papinianus
Born	142 CE Emesa, Roman Syria
Died	212 CE (aged 69–70) Rome
Allegiance	Roman Empire
Years of service	205 CE–212 CE
Rank	Praetorian prefect
Unit	Praetorian Guard

Aemilius Papinianus (Latin pronunciation: [ae̯ˈmɪliʊs paːpɪniˈaːnʊs]; Ancient Greek: Αἰμίλιος Παπινιανός;^[1] 142 CE–212 CE), simply rendered as Papinian (/pəˈpɪniən/)^[2] in English, was a celebrated Roman jurist, magister libellorum, attorney general (advocatus fisci) and, after the death of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in 205 CE, praetorian prefect.

Papinian was one of the most revered jurists in ancient Rome, as third year law students were given the title "Papinianistae" (meaning "they that are worthy to study Papinian"). In his time, he had been called "the Asylum of Right and Treasurer of the Laws".^[3] Along with Gaius, Paulus, Modestinus and Ulpian, he was made one of the five jurists whose recorded views were considered decisive by the Law of Citations of 426 CE; their views would later be considered the only suitable ones to be cited as primary sources for the Codex Theodosianus and the Corpus Juris Civilis, provided that Papinian's views prevailed whenever those of the four other jurists were not congruent. The 16th century French jurist Jacques Cujas wrote that "there was never such a great lawyer before, nor ever will be after him".^[3]