How was the Roman government organized?

Answer 1

The Roman Republic was one of popular elections for limited terms of office. As a safeguard against another king, the Romans initiated the rulership of two consuls, with each having equal power and each one could, if needed, override the other. However the term of office was only one year, in this way safeguarding against one man becoming a perpetual ruler. The lower ranks of public officials were organized in the same manner. The senate was a debating and consulting body, which could not actually pass a law (the people's assemblies did this) but could pass resolutions. The only time one man held all the authority in the republic was if there should be some crises that the senate could not resolve. In that case they appointed a dictator for six months.

Answer 2

The Roman Republic did not have a centralised government like a cabinet or an administration. They were five types of elected officers of state which carried out their duties independently within the remit of their type of office. The senior officers were the consuls (the heads of the city and the army), the praetors (the chiefs justice who oversaw the trials and the development of Roman law and could also lead an army if needed) and the censors (they enrolled the senators and could expel them for the senate; they oversaw and financed public works and were responsible for public morals (hence the modern meaning of the word). The junior officers were the quaestors, the treasurers, and the aediles. The aediles were responsible for the maintenance and repair of public buildings, sewers and aqueducts; for street cleaning and paving; for traffic regulations and for fire precautions. They supervised the baths and taverns. They enforced of sumptuary laws, punished of gamblers and usurers and enforced of public morals regulations. They checked the quality of sold articles and the accuracy of weights and measures. They supervised the purchase of corn for the grain dole for the poor. They also organised and supervised public games, which were frequent and an important feature of Roman public life. The term of office was one year for all the offices, except for the censors, who were elected every 18 months. The plebeian tribunesrepresented the interest of the plebeians (commoners) and chaired the Plebeian council, which elected them annually. These tribunes were not officers of state.

The senate was not an elected body. It was an advisory council. It was a body where policies were discussed, the organisation of Rome's military campaigns was co-coordinated and the administration of the conquered territories was directed from. It supervised the treasures. It was not a legislative body, but it could issue decrees. Originally it was composed of men selected from the aristocracy and former senior officers of state who automatically became senators. Later junior officers of state were also included. The senate was dominated by the aristocracy and was the body though which this class exercised its power.

There were three popular assemblies. The Assembly of the Soldiers (comitia centuriata) elected the senior officers of state (the consuls, the praetors and the censors) voted on peace or war, and acted as a court of appeal for capital punishment cases. The Assembly of the Tribes (comitia tributa) elected the junior officers of state (the aediles and the quaestors) and acted as a court appeal for other cases. The function as court of appeal of these two assemblies was repealed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 82 BC, who transferred it to a special jury (quaestiones perpetuae). In the Early Republic bills were proposed by the consuls to the vote of the Assembly of the Soldiers. Later the plebeian tribunes proposed bills to the vote of the Plebeian Council (concilium plebis).

Answer 3

When the Roman Republic was first set up, in 500 BC, the people in charge were two men called consuls. Women were not allowed to be consuls. The consuls controlled the army, and they decided whether to start a war and how much taxes to collect and what the laws were. They both had to agree in order to change anything; if one of them said “veto”, Latin for “I forbid it”, then nothing would be done. The consuls got advice from the Senate, which was made up of men from wealthy families in Rome. Women were not allowed in the Senate, either. Once you got into the Senate, you stayed in for the rest of your life. Most consuls eventually joined the Senate, and most senators were from families where their fathers and grandfathers had been in the Senate. Most of the time, the consuls did what the Senate advised. There were also prefects in Rome, whose job it was to run the city – some heard court cases, some ran the vegetable markets or the meat markets or the port. There were tribunes, who were supposed to speak for the poorer people in the Senate. Tribunes were elected by the Assembly, and they could veto (forbid) anything the Senate voted for that affected the poor (which ended up being pretty much anything the Senate voted on). These, too, were all men. Finally, there was also an Assembly of all the men (not women) who were grownup and free and had Roman citizenship. They voted on some big issues, if the consuls asked them to – things like whether to go to war. And they elected the consuls and prefects and the Senators. But the Assembly was set up so that richer people got more votes than poorer people.

Answer 4

The government of the Roman republic was more or less divided between six political offices. The first was the office of aedile. The aedile was responsible for the infrastructure of the city, weights and measures and the licencing of various businesses. The next office was the quaestor who was a financial officer and responsible for accounting and allotting money from the treasury. The office of praetor came next and was the second highest position in the republic. A praetor was a judge, but also could raise and lead an army. Various praetors had various responsibilities. At the top of the republic were the consuls who were responsible for the general well being of the republic, the proposal of laws and making decisions of war and peace. There was also the office of tribune of the plebs.

These men were elected originally to look after the concerns of the plebeians and could veto any proposal made by anyone except a dictator. This office deteriorated into a tool for ambitious politicians.

Answer 5

Rome had three types of government over the 1200 years of her history: a monarchy for 244 years, a republic for 482 years and rule by emeperors for 503 years.

Answer 6

they where nice and neat