law, children of an extramarital affair involving a married Jewish woman are considered mamzerim and cannot marry non-mamzerim. History Greco-Roman culture The ancient Athenians liberally allowed divorce, but the person requesting divorce had to submit the request to a magistrate, and the magistrate could determine whether the reasons given were sufficient. Divorce was rare in early Roman culture but as their empire grew in power and authority Roman civil law embraced the maxim, "" ("marriages ought to be free"), and either husband or wife could renounce the marriage at will. The Christian emperors Constantine and Theodosius restricted the grounds for divorce to grave cause, but this was relaxed by Justinian in the 6th century. Mali Empire In post-classical Mali, laws relating to divorced women were documented in the Timbuktu manuscripts. Medieval Europe After the fall of the Roman Empire, familial life was regulated more by ecclesiastical authority than civil authority. The Catholic and Orthodox Church had, among others, a differing view of divorce. The Orthodox Church recognized that there are rare occasions when it is better that couples do separate. For the Orthodox, to say that marriage is indissoluble means that it should not be broken, the violation of such a union, perceived as holy, being an offense resulting from either adultery or the prolonged absence of one of the partners. Thus, permitting remarriage is an act of compassion of the Church towards sinful man. Under the influence of the Catholic Church, the divorce rate had been greatly reduced by the 9th or 10th century, which considered marriage a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ and indissoluble by mere human action. Although divorce, as known today, was generally prohibited in Catholic lands after the 10th century, separation of husband and wife and the annulment of marriage were well-known. What is today referred to as "separate maintenance" (or "legal separation") was termed "divorce a mensa et thoro" ("divorce from bed-and-board"). The husband and wife physically separated and were forbidden to live or cohabit together, but their marital relationship did not fully terminate. Civil courts had no power over marriage or divorce. The grounds for annulment were determined by a Catholic church authority and applied in ecclesiastical courts. Annulment was for canonical causes of impediment existing at the time of the marriage. "For in cases of total divorce, the marriage is declared null, as having been absolutely unlawful ab initio." The Catholic Church