Ulpian (redirected from Ulpianus)

Ulpian (Dometius Ulpianus) (ŭl`pēən), d. 228, Roman jurist. He was a member of the council of the jurist Papinian. As Praetorian prefect from 222, he enjoyed the favor of the emperor Alexander Severus, and he was murdered by the jealous Praetorian Guard. Ulpian's Libri ad edictum [edicts], a statement of the policy he would follow while in office, survives only in excerpts. Much of the Corpus Juris Civilis is extracted from Ulpian's writings.

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Ulpian 

(Domitius Ulpianus). Born circa 170; died 228. Roman jurist.

Ulpian’s views were influenced by the Stoic philosophers. He believed that slavery was a contradiction of natural law, but he justified it on the basis of custom developed among all peoples and fixed by civil law and the law of nations (jus gentium). Ulpian also substantiated the validity of the unlimited power of the Roman emperors. His best-preserved work is Liber singularisregularum (Book of Rules). Four hundred twenty-six of Ulpian’s writings, together with works by four other prominent jurists, were made legally binding by statute. Fragments of Ulpian’s works constitute about one-third of the main part of the Byzantine codification of law (seeDIGEST).