Provincial rabbis: shaping rabbinic divorce procedure in a Roman legal environment

THE EVOLUTION OF RABBINIC law into a sophisticated and elaborate system took place during the first centuries of the Common Era in the shadow of Roman imperial power. The rabbis were clearly aware of Roman jurisdiction, as it shaped juridical practices and the legal atmosphere in the provinces and, like all other inhabitants of Roman provinces, they could not escape its control over their daily lives. But what role did this legal environment have in shaping the rabbis' own lawmaking? This question is essential for studying the development of early rabbinic law and is also pertinent to our understanding of the legal culture in the provinces of the Roman Empire as a whole.