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How did punishments under the Ecloga differ from earlier Roman death penalties?

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The Ecloga, a legal code issued by Emperor Leo III in 726, significantly reformed the application of capital punishment compared to earlier Roman law.

Guided by a spirit of greater humanity and Christian principles, the Ecloga restricted the death penalty to a limited set of serious offenses, specifically treason, military desertion, and certain instances of homicide, heresy, and slander. For many crimes that had previously been punishable by death under the Code of Justinian, the Ecloga substituted alternative punishments, most notably mutilation and amputation.12

This shift represented a deliberate move away from the broader use of execution found in earlier Roman legal traditions, reflecting Leo III's effort to align the empire's criminal justice system with his interpretation of Christian ethics.12