herz

New book by CU Classics faculty

Brian Gordon — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 22:12:13 +0000

New book by CU Classics faculty Brian Gordon Tue, 09/16/2025 - 16:12

The God and the Bureaucrat: Roman Law, Imperial Sovereignty, and Other Stories

Why is Roman law so boring? In this book, Zachary Herz argues that the bureaucratic, positivistic world of Roman law is not a distraction from the violent autocracy of the Roman empire, but an imagined escape. Lawyers, bureaucrats, and even emperors used legal writing to think about worlds that were safer or fairer than the one in which they lived. This archive of political imagination slowly became a law-code, and now guides readers through a legal system about which its authors could only dream. From Augustus to Justinian, this book shows how law symbolized order in chaotic times, and how that symbol eventually took on a life of its own. From the enlightened judgements of Hadrian to the great jurists and child rulers of Severan Rome, Herz reveals what Romans were really talking about when they talked about law.

For more information about the book, visit this link on the publisher's website

Professor Zach Herz has just published his first book--The God and the Bureaucrat: Roman Law, Imperial Sovereignty, and Other Stories--with Cambridge University Press

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9/3: “Roman Law vs. the Nazis.”

Brian Gordon — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 18:11:12 +0000

9/3: “Roman Law vs. the Nazis.” Brian Gordon Tue, 09/02/2025 - 12:11

On Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 11:00 am in Ketchum 371, CU Classics’ own Zach Herz will present on “Roman Law vs. the Nazis.” This is the first installment in the Rocky Mountain Philosophy, Politics, & Economics Workshop fall symposium series. Lunch will be served for Prof. Herz’s talk. To register, go here.

Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 11:00 am in Ketchum 371, CU Classics’ own Zach Herz will present on “Roman Law vs. the Nazis.”

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An Empire of Correspondence

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 21:11:45 +0000

An Empire of Correspondence Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/27/2024 - 15:11

On October 4 and 5, Prof. Zach Herz will host speakers from three continents in Boulder, CO for a conference entitled "An Empire of Correspondence." The conference will feature talks on the role of imperial letters in social, legal, and political life throughout Roman history. Anyone who wishes to watch a livestream of the proceedings should request a link at https://forms.gle/bU8j2JZR6qgE3VUk9.

Location: Norlin Library - Center for British & Irish Studies Room (CBIS Room)
Time: 8:30AM - 6:00PM

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McClanahan Lecture: Lampreys and the Birth of Roman Imperial Jurisdiction

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 04:19:25 +0000

McClanahan Lecture: Lampreys and the Birth of Roman Imperial Jurisdiction Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 02/06/2022 - 21:19

McClanahan Lecture Series

Lampreys and the Birth of Roman Imperial Jurisdiction
Dr. Zach Herz, ��ɫ��Ƶ

Thursday, February 17th, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. | Hybrid

Vedius Pollio liked feeding people to lampreys. According to an urban legend that circulated in Imperial Rome, the emperor Augustus saved one of Pollio’s slaves from this grisly fate and punished Pollio for his brutality. In this talk, Dr. Herz considers what the Pollio story can tell us about how emperors worked. It reveals the complex mechanics of Augustan messaging, and offers a glimpse into the freighted moral questions raised by imperial power. What does it mean to go to the emperor for justice? What can he offer that other decisionmakers can’t? And what could justice even mean in the autocracy of the enslaving household, on one hand, or of the Principate on the other? Come for the man-eating fish, stay for the jurisdictional conflict.

This lecture is free and will be given in person (Eaton Humanities 250) and simultaneously hosted on Zoom.
This lecture is sponsored by Mary E.V. McClanahan. CU Classics is grateful for her generous support.

View the PDF poster here

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herz

New book by CU Classics faculty

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9/3: “Roman Law vs. the Nazis.”

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An Empire of Correspondence

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McClanahan Lecture: Lampreys and the Birth of Roman Imperial Jurisdiction

McClanahan Lecture Series

Lampreys and the Birth of Roman Imperial Jurisdiction Dr. Zach Herz, ��ɫ��Ƶ

Thursday, February 17th, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. | Hybrid

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Lampreys and the Birth of Roman Imperial Jurisdiction
Dr. Zach Herz, ��ɫ��Ƶ