Simple English definitions for legal terms
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The Senatus Consultum Macedonianum was a law made by the Roman Senate during the reign of Vespasian. It was created to protect fathers from their children who borrowed too much money in the hopes of inheriting their father's wealth. This law made it illegal for lenders to try to recover loans made to children who were still under their father's control, even after the father's death. The law was named after a man named Macedo, who had made a loan that led to a son killing his father to inherit his wealth. The Senatus Consultum Macedonianum was created to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.
Definition: Senatus consultum Macedonianum was a decree passed by the Roman Senate under Vespasian to protect fathers from their children who had borrowed excessive sums of money in anticipation of their father's death. This decree made it unlawful to take actions to recover such loans.
Example: Macedo, a usurer, had made a loan to a filius-familias, which instigated the debtor to kill his father to inherit his wealth. To prevent such tragic incidents, the senatus consultum Macedonianum declared that no action would lie to recover money lent to a filius-familias.
This example illustrates how the senatus consultum Macedonianum aimed to protect fathers from their children's greed and prevent them from committing heinous crimes to inherit their wealth.