The article is devoted to the study of the legal nature of Roman marriage. It defines the concept of marriage as a socially significant union of a man and a woman, which determined the legal status of the wife and children born in this union, as well as property relations between the spouses. On the basis of Roman legal sources and scientific works of Roman lawyers, the classification of Roman marriages is defined, the grounds and conditions for entering the marriage and its dissolution are identified, and the differences between legal and illegal Roman marriages are outlined.

The article focuses on the definition of the concubinate as a special form of regulation of actual marriage relations. It is determined that the concubinate occupied a more important place in Roman social and legal life, since it had almost all the features of marriage and significant differences from amica.

The peculiarities and significance of dowry in Roman family law are highlighted. It is noted that in Roman law, the latter was not always mandatory as in Ukrainian traditions, in particular, the obligation to transfer dowry was provided only in marriages without male authority (sine manu).

The grounds and procedure for divorce are analyzed. It is established that the attitude to divorce varied depending on the period of the Roman Empire development. A divorce by mutual consent was prohibited, and a divorce initiated by one of the spouses was allowed in clearly defined cases: violation of marital fidelity by one of the spouses, attempted murder of one of them, inability to have sexual intercourse or desire to go to a monastery. Accordingly, if these reasons were absent, the initiator of the divorce had to pay a fine.

Key words: Roman marriage, classification of Roman marriages, concubinate, dissolution of marriage, marriageable age, dowry.

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