The Roman Empire as a Foederatio: International Legal Aspects During the Dominate Era

Viktor Melnyk

doi:10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI1.2.512

Authors

Viktor Melnyk Department of Political Science, Faculty of Philosophy, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5640-0351

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI1.2.512

Keywords:

jurisdictional stratigraphy, legal transfer, concept of imperial sovereignty, normative extrapolation, federative subsidiarity, foederatio

Abstract

The proposed study offers an in-depth analysis of the legal phenomenon of lex feuds, which operated as an integrative mechanism of jurisdictional stratification and identity construction within the Roman Empire under the Dominate. The research highlights the correlation between Roman ius publicum and the politico-legal architecture of Imperial Rome, which, despite its formal unitarity, displayed features of asymmetric federalism institutionalized through limited subsidiarity and jurisdictional layering. Central to the argument is that Rome’s international legal personality reflected its internal legal paradigms, embodied in its treaty-making capacity. The feuds functioned as a transitional legal tool between ius gentium and ius civile, enabling quasi-federative integration of barbarian tribes through modified patron–client relations (patronus–clientele). These agreements, while not conforming to classical norms of international law, became instruments of conditional homogenization, with the emperor acting as sacral-legal arbiter of legitimacy. The study employs systemic-analytical, historical-retrospective, hermeneutic, and comparative-legal methods, supplemented by axiological analysis and conceptual extrapolation. It demonstrates that the division regni did not fracture sovereignty but enhanced the administrative manageability of the Empire. Diplomatic agreements with external states further illustrate Rome’s differentiated patronage model, which informed later federative structures in medieval and modern Europe.

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