legal history

On 7 April 529, Justinian I published the first instalment of the Corpus Juris Civilis - a codification of Roman law that outlasted the empire, shaped the medieval church, and provided the blueprint for the Napoleonic Code. It is still in use.

On 21 March 1804, Napoleon signed the Code civil des Français into law. His empire lasted eleven years. The Code is still in force.