this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2025
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Antoninus Pius, my love (media.piefed.social)
submitted 5 days ago by PugJesus@piefed.social to c/historymemes@piefed.social
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[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 4 points 5 days ago

He also implemented the legal standard of "Innocent until proven guilty", implemented new protections for slaves, instituted a preference for assuming freedom rather than slavery when a person's status was in question, and reduced the applicability of torture against slaves during judicial trials (reduced, not eliminated, because the past is still a REALLY shitty place). He respected the Senate and ruled with them as a partner, separated the personal wealth of the Emperor from the Empire's treasury (didn't last, but it was a nice thought), and mandated records to be kept of interrogations that were to be used in trials to reduce fraud on the part of prosecutors and magistrates.

As far as pre-modern autocrats go, he's probably as wholesome as one could wish for without looking for an outright revolutionary.