1. (cap.) A 60-book Greek summary of Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, with comments (scholia). • The Basilica (“royal law”) was begun by the Byzantine emperor Basil I, and it served as a major source of the law of the Eastern Empire from the early 10th century until Constantinople’s fall in 1453.
2. A colonnaded hall used as a law court or for trading; specif., in ancient Rome, a public building usu. used as a court of justice. • A basilica typically featured a nave with two aisles and an apse. Architects adopted the basilica’s layout for the design of early Christian churches.
