Dorotheus

Who is Dorotheus?

Dorotheus was a professor of Roman law in the law school of Berytus in Phoenicia. While his date of birth is unknown, he must at least have died before 542. He was one of the three commissioners appointed by the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I to draw up a book of Institutes, after the model of the Institutes of Gaius, which should serve as an introduction to the Digest already completed and promulgated on 16 December 533. His colleagues in this project were Tribonian and Theophilus; and their work was accomplished in 533 and they were all granted with the highest title quaestor sacri palatii illustris. Except for the first code of 7 April 529, Dorotheus participated in the compiling of all Justinian's codes, including the second edition of the Codex Constitutionum.

As a method of teaching, the ancient law professors used to write commentaries on all parts of Justinian's law. While Justinian's law was promulgated in Latin, these commentaries were written in Greek, due to the fact that lawyers were hardly able to read Latin anymore.