Acts – Page 5 – OAJA.org

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 426
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Inheritance Laws concerning Jewish Converts to Christianity" Issued by Emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III
3. Geography of Act	Holy Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	If the son or daughter or grandchild, one or several, of a Jew or Samaritan, shall after mature consideration leave the shadows of his superstition for the light of the Christian religion, it shall not be lawful for his parents or grandparents to disinherit him or to pass him over in their will, or to leave him less than he would have received if they had died intestate...
5. Source	“The Persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire (300-428).” James Everett Seaver. 1952, Page 64; Accessed online 8/2/2011
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Editor Author’s footnote dates this law in 426 as Theodosian Code 16.8.28

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 31, 429
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Decree Regarding Jews” issued by Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian and addressed to Count of Imperial Largesses John
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	We order by this law, which shall be valid for all time, that none of the Jews (to whom all administrations and dignities are forbidden), shall perform the duties of municipal defender, nor do We permit them to assume the honor of father of the city, lest, strengthened by the authority of the office which they have obtained, they may have the power of judging, or of promulgating decrees against Christians, as well as frequently against the bishops of our holy religion themselves, and, by so doing, insult our faith. (1) We also, for the same reason, direct that no Jewish synagogue shall be constructed of new materials, but permission is given to repair such old ones as are threatened with ruin. (2) Hence, any Jew who may have received an office cannot enjoy the dignity which he has acquired; or if he has surreptitiously obtained a public employment which is forbidden, he shall, by all means, be deprived of it; or if he should build a synagogue, he is hereby notified that he has labored for the benefit of the Catholic Church; and those who have, by craft, obtained honors and dignities, shall be considered to remain in the same condition in which they previously were, even though they may have been unlawfully promoted to an honorable rank. He who has begun the construction of a new synagogue, not with the intention of repairing an old one, shall be condemned to pay fifty pounds of gold, and be deprived of the work which he is already presumed to do; and, moreover, it is hereby decreed that his property shall be confiscated, and that he shall be condemned to the penalty of death, as one who, by his false doctrine, has attacked the faith of others.
5. Source	Scott, Pearson Samuel: The Civil Law, Book XII; (Cincinnati; 1932).
6. Researcher	Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research	2017
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	May 30, 429
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Transfer of the Crown Tax Previously Paid to the Jewish Patriarch to the Imperial Treasury" Issued by Theodosius II and Valentinian III
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Italy; Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	The leaders of the Jews, who are nominated in the assemblies of either part of Palestine or spend their time in other provinces, must pay up whatever funds they have collected under the pretense of pension money after the dissolution of the patriarchate. In the future, under threat of punishment, their ordinary tribute from all their synagogues, which the patriarchs at one time demanded under the name of the aurum coronarium, is to be collected by our Palatini. Whatever sum this amounts to you are to confiscate after a diligent investigation; and those moneys which used to be given regularly to the patriarchs from the western provinces are to be confiscated to our charity fund.
5. Source	“The Persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire (300-428).” James Everett Seaver. 1952, Page 72; Accessed online.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	2011
8. Notes	Editor Author’s footnote dates this law in 429 as Theodosian Code 16.8.29

1. Full Date of Act	May 30, 429
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Code of Justinian 1.9.17 on the confiscation of Jewish taxes, issued by Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian Augustuses to John, Count of the Imperial Finances.
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	The leading men of the Jews who are elected in the councils of both provinces of Palestine, or who live in other provinces, must at their own risk, at the insistence of Palatine officials, collect the annual tax from all synagogues in the same way that the patriarchs once collected it in the name of crown gold (aurum coronarium); that is, whatever was once collected in the western provinces and paid to the patriarchs shall now be paid to Our Finances.
5. Source	Bruce W. Frier, et al (eds.), “The Codex of Justinian: A New Annotated Translation, with Parallel Latin and Greek Text,” Cambridge University Press, 2016, p. 235, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2025
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jun. 3, 429
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Decree Regarding Jews” issued by Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian and addressed to Count of Imperial Largesses John
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	The chiefs of the Jews, who govern the Sanhedrim in both Palestines, or those who reside in other provinces, shall, at their own risk, be compelled by the officers of the palace to collect the annual tax due from all the synagogues, in the same manner as the patriarchs formerly collected tribute, under the name of 'coronary gold,' and what was accustomed to be paid to the western patriarchs shall be deposited in the Treasury of Our Largesses.
5. Source	Scott, Pearson Samuel: The Civil Law, Book XII; (Cincinnati; 1932).
6. Researcher	Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research	2017
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 31, 438
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Policy in Regard to Jews, Samaritans, Pagans, and Heretics" Law issued by Emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III, 438 AD
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	We decree in this law—that shall stand forever—that no Jew, and no Samaritan, nor any one constant in either of these laws, should accede to honors and dignities, to none of them shall be opened an administration with public obedience, neither shall he serve as Protector.
5. Source	Theodosius II, Novella, 3.
6. Researcher & Translator	Researcher Ziba Shadjaani Translator Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation	Research Translation 2015
8. Notes	Translator Researched by Ziba Shadjaani, and Researched and Translated by Joan Paez.

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 31, 439
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Code of Justinian 1.9.18 on restrictions on Jewish life, issued by Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian Augustuses to Florentius, Praetorian Prefect.
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	We decree that no Jew, to whom all offices and ranks are forbidden, shall hold the office of defender of the city, nor do We permit them to seize the office of father (of the city), lest fortified by the authority of the office that they have acquired, they should have any power of judging or pronouncing against Christians and even the bishops of the sacred religion themselves, as if insulting our faith. 1. Censuring this, too, with equal consideration of reason, We command that no Jewish synagogue may rise up in a new construction, but permission is granted for propping up those in danger of collapse. 2. Therefore whoever either receives the insignia (of office), shall not obtain the positions sought; or if he sneaks into offices forbidden him, he shall be utterly expelled from them; or if he constructs a synagogue, he shall know that he has labored to the benefit of the Catholic Church. And he who infiltrates honors and rank shall, as before, be considered of the lowest status, even if he illicitly was granted an honorary rank; and he who undertakes the construction of a synagogue not in the interest of repairing it shall be cheated of the effect of his daring with the loss of 50 pounds of gold. 3. He who overwhelms the faith of another by his perverse teaching shall see his property confiscated and himself then destined for a penalty exacted in blood.
5. Source	Bruce W. Frier, et al (eds.), “The Codex of Justinian: A New Annotated Translation, with Parallel Latin and Greek Text,” Cambridge University Press, 2016, p. 237, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2025
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 31, 439
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Law Regarding Jews, Samaritans, Heretics, and Pagans” issued by Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian Augustuses to the Praetorian Prefect Florentius
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Italy; Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	[…] 2) We finally sanction by this law destined to live in all ages, that no Jew, no Samaritan, who does not rely on either law shall enter upon any honors or dignities; to none of them shall the administration of a civil duty be available, nor shall the they perform even the duties of a defender (of a municipality). 3) With an equal reasonable consideration also, We prohibit any synagogue to arise as a new building, but license is granted to strengthen the ancient synagogues which threaten immediately to fall in ruin. 4) If any person […] has erected a synagogue, he shall know that he has labored for the profit of the Catholic Church. […] If any one of them should begin the building of a synagogue, not with the desire merely to repair it, in addition to the loss of fifty pounds of gold, he shall be deprived of his audacious undertaking. Besides, he shall perceive that his goods are proscribed and that he himself shall immediately be destined to the death penalty, if he should overthrow the faith of another (convert them) by his perverted doctrine. 7) […] members of the aforesaid sects shall execute the sentences of judges only in private suits, and they shall not be in charge of the custody of prisons […]. 10) […] You shall also direct that these commands shall be announced to the governors of the provinces, so that by their like solicitude they may make known to all municipalities and provinces what We have necessarily sanctioned.
5. Source	Pharr, Clyde: The Theodosian Code and Novels, and the Sirmondian Constitutes - A Translation with Commentary, Glossary, and Bibliography. (New Jersey; 2001)
6. Researcher	Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research	2018
8. Notes	Researcher Even though the title of the law reads “Jews, Samaritans, Heretics, and Pagans,” it was specifically geared towards Jews.

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 1, 439
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Circumcision Ban" issued by Emperor Theodosius and addressed to Praetorian Prefect Asclepiodotus
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	Jews who are proved [proven] to have circumcised any man belonging to our religion, or to have directed this to be done, shall be condemned to the confiscation of their property and to perpetual exile.
5. Source	Parson Scott, Samuel: The Civil Law, XII; The Enactment of Justinian. The Code (Book I); Accessed online.
6. Researcher	Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research	2017
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	451
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Sabbath Abolished” decree ordered by Yazdegerd II
3. Geography of Act	Persia
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) Sassanian ruler Yazdegerd II of Persia’s decree abolishes the Sabbath and orders the execution of Jewish leaders, including the Exilarch Mar Nuna. Avraham, Yerachmiel Ben: All in the Name of Jesus: The Murder of Millions (2016)
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	455
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	SABBATH ABOLISHED IN PERSIA
3. Geography of Act	Persia
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) King Jezdegerd II (Yazdegerd II), under the influence of the Zoroastrian priests, decided to ban Sabbath observance. […] "Jewish History;" Online article
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	461 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“XII. Concerning the feasts of Jews” issued by the Council of Vannes
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	“In the future, all clerics should avoid dining/feasting with Jews, nor are they to welcome them to a meal/feast. For they do not eat the common food of Christians, [and] it is shameful and sacrilegious for Christians to consume their food. Since the food that we eat, which the apostle approved, they consider unclean, if we accept what they (Jews) serve us and they hold that which we serve them in contempt, this could make the clerics seem inferior to Jews.”
5. Source	Lee, A. D.: Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity. A sourcebook. (London/New York; 2000); Researched Ziba Shadjaani 5/22/2020
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	465 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Canon 12 issued by the Council of Vannes
3. Geography of Act	France [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	Canon 12…All clergy must avoid eating with Jews, nor should anyone entertain them to a meal. For they do not consume food in common with Christians, so it should be shameful and sacrilegious for Christians to eat their food; for what is allowed by the Apostle and what we consume they consider impure, and this clergy would be more unworthy than the Jews when we consume what they serve, while they despise what we offer.
5. Source	“Establishing Boundaries: Christian-Jewish relations in early council texts and the writings of Church Fathers.” F.J.E. Boddens Hosang. 2010, Page 150. Online book, Accessed 10/14/2011
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	470
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Edict to Close Synagogues and Study Houses issued by King Firuz
3. Geography of Act	Persia
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) King Firuz (Pheroces/Peroz) (r. 457-484) added to the edicts of Jezdegerd II, by closing synagogues and study houses. "470 RAV HUNA V EXILARCH EXECUTED (Persia);" jewishhistory.org
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	471
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Persecution of Jews" under Firuz (Peroz I)
3. Geography of Act	Sassanian Empire
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) The Babylonian Jews are persecuted under the reign of King Firuz (Peroz I). Funk & Wagnalls: Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume IV (1903)
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	475 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Lex Romana Burgundionium
3. Geography of Act	Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) "[King Gundobad] prohibited intermarriage between Jews and Christians; violators where punished with ‘forced divorce’.” Scherer, Johann E.: Die Rechtverhältnisse der Juden in den deutsch-österreichischen Ländern (Leibzig; 1901) p. 27
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Editor King Gundobad of Burgundy

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 4, 475
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Law 102 published in the Book of Constitutions, issued by King Gundobad.
3. Geography of Act	Kingdom of Burgundy
4. Text of Act	102. Of the Jews who presume to lay hands on a Christian. [1.] Whoever a Jew shall presume to lay hands on a Christian, with a fist or a kick or a club or a whip or a stone. or seizes him by the hair, we order that his hand be cut off. [2.] But if he wishes to redeem his hand, we order him to redeem it for 75 solidi, and a fine of 12 solidi. [3.] Furthermore, we order that if he presumes to lay hands on a priest, he shall be delivered to death, and his property shall be delivered to our treasury
5. Source	Society for Discovering the Sources of German Things of the Middle Ages (eds.), “Monvmenta Germaniae Historica Inde Ab Anno Christi Qvingentesimo Vsqve Ad Annvm Millesimvm Et Qvingentesimvm [Historical Monuments of Germany From the Year of Christ Fifty-Fifty to the Year One Thousand and Fifty],” Hanover, 1817, p. 114, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2025
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in Latin in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	506 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree from the Roman Law of the Visigoths issued by Alaric II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	[Section 5:24:4 decreed] If Jews should circumcise purchased slaves of another nation, they shall be banished or suffer capital punishment.
5. Source	Linder, Amnon: “The Jews in the Legal Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” Page 222
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 11, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree from the Roman Law of the Visigoths issued by Alaric II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	[Section 16:4:2 decreed] A Jew should not buy a Christian slave nor acquire him in a gift. If anyone should not observe this, he shall forfeit the ownership impudently acquired, while the slave shall be granted liberty as reward if he should willingly cause the deed to be publicly known. The others, however, who partake in the right religion and are held under the rule of the nefarious superstition, which appears to have acquired them in the past or will acquire them hereafter, in inheritance or in fideicommissum, shall be possessed by it on this condition, that it should not corrupt them with the filth of its proper sect to their will or against their will. If this rule should be violated, therefore, the instigators of such a crime shall be punished by capital punishment as well as by confiscation. Given on the fourth day before the ides of April…
5. Source	Linder, Amnon: “The Jews in the Legal Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” Page 226.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	May 22, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree from the Roman Law of the Visigoths issued by Alaric II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	[Section 16:2:1 decreed] We punish the crime of Christians passing over to altars and temples by abrogating their power to bequeath in testament. Also, those who despised the dignity of the Christian religion and name and polluted themselves with the Jewish contagions should be punished for their disgraceful acts. Given on the twelfth day before the calends of June at Padua…
5. Source	Linder, Amnon: “The Jews in the Legal Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” Page 224.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jun. 26, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree from the Roman Law of the Visigoths issued by Alaric II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	[Section 16:3:2 decreed] If someone should become Jew from Christian and should be joined to sacrilegious assemblies after the venerable law had been established, we have decreed that his property should be vindicated to the fisc’s dominion once the accusation had been proved. Given on the fifth day before the nones of July in Milan…
5. Source	Linder, Amnon: “The Jews in the Legal Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” Page 225.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 10, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Canon 93, Council of Agde
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	If they wish to come into the Catholic faith, the Jews must wait for a period of eight months to cross through the threshold of the church...
5. Source	Decretum Gratiani, Pars III, Distintio IV, Canon 93.
6. Researcher & Translator	Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation	2016
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 11, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Canon 34 & 40 issued by the Synod of Agde
3. Geography of Act	France
4. Text of Act	Canon 34...If Jews, who in their perfidy frequently return to their vomit, should want to join the Catholic law, they shall enter the church up to the threshold among the catechumens for eight months, and if they should be recognized to be joining out of pure faith, only then shall they deserve the grace of baptism. But if they should incur an accidental health risk during the prescribed period and should be in a desperate condition, they shall be baptized...Canon 40...All clergy and lay people must avoid eating with Jews, nor should any-one entertain them to a meal. For they do not consume is allowed by the Apostle, they consider impure, and thus Catholics would be unworthy when we consume what they serve, while they despise what we offer.
5. Source	“Establishing Boundaries: Christian-Jewish relations in early council texts and the writings of Church Fathers.” F.J.E. Boddens Hosang. 2010, Page 151-152. Online book.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	2011
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 21, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree from the Roman Law of the Visigoths issued by Alaric II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	[Section 3:1:5 decreed] On no account should a Jew buy a Christian slave, neither should he contaminate him with Jewish sacraments and convert him from Christian to Jew. If it should be revealed in a public investigation that this was done, the slaves must be taken away, and such owners suffer a punishment commensurate and appropriate to the crime. Furthermore, if slaves who are still Christian or Christian slaves who have become Jews should be discovered in the possession of Jews, they shall be redeemed from a shameful slavery through payment by Christians of the right price. Received on the tenth day before the calends of October at regium…
5. Source	Linder, Amnon: “The Jews in the Legal Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” Page 221.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Oct. 20, 506
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree from the Roman Law of the Visigoths issued by Alaric II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	[Section 16:4:1 decreed] If one of the Jews should buy and circumcise a Christian slave or of any other sect, he shall on no account retain the circumcised in slavery, but the man who suffered this shall acquire the privileges of liberty. And other matters. Given on the twelfth day before the calends of November…
5. Source	Linder, Amnon: “The Jews in the Legal Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” Page 226.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None