Who was Ulpian, the Roman jurist from Tyre?

Ulpian was an influential early third-century Roman jurist born in Tyre, Roman Syria. He moved to Rome, became a major legal authority, and supplied about a third of the content for Justinian's Digest. His writings later carried immense authority, securing his place among the five recognized jurists in the Law of Citations.

What we know

• Ulpian was born in Tyre in Roman Syria. [2]
• He supplied about a third of the contents for the Justinian Digest. [2]
• He was named one of the five legal authorities in the Law of Citations of Valentinian III. [2]
• Ulpian had Phoenician origins and operated within the Greco-Roman world. [4]

Still open

• Sources differ slightly on his exact year of death, citing either 223 or 228.

Where to go next

• how we knowWhat was the Law of Citations?
• what followedWhat is the Justinian Digest?
• compared withWho was the Roman jurist Gaius?
• the bigger pictureWhat defined the Greco-Roman world?
• how it workedWhat is a jurist in legal systems?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a Phoenician-descended scholar shape Roman law?Despite being of Phoenician origin from Tyre, Ulpian became a central imperial chancellor and provided a massive portion of the definitive Justinian Digest.

Sources

• [1]Ulpian (Wikidata Q310076) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Ulpian · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Jurist · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Greco-Roman world · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Gaius (jurist) · CC BY-SA 4.0