Checks and Balances in Rome

A detailed Summary of Checks and Balances in Rome


In tracing the history of Roman government, one would find that the first form of established rule was by that of the monarchy. This meant that one king held imperium over the mass of the people. However, by 510 B.C, with the elimination of the monarchy, this imperium was granted to two consuls who shared it equally, thus allowing for a new process of governing with division of power.

The consuls held highly authoritative positions, dealing regularly with military and legal matters, and with general public affairs. As stated by Polybius, History of the World, 6.12.1-9, "it is the duty of the consuls to consider these (public affairs) their concern, and to summon assemblies, to introduce resolutions, and to execute the decrees of the people." Obviously, the consuls were faced with many major responsibilities, thus, the government was soon divided further to include magistracies.

Only certain magistracies held imperium, besides the consuls, those being the praetors and the dictators. Praetors, described by the Historian Messalla as "colleagues of the consuls", functioned in handling matters in the law, specifically that of civil law. Dictators were assigned to deal with affairs in times of urgency, such as war, and were entitl


While the first form of government in Rome was a monarchy, with one man having imperium over all the citizens, it is evident through the various forms of government that were eventually established in Rome that imperium would never again be limited to one individual or institution. This was partly ensured by the fact that all authoritative figures with imperium could hold office for only a limited time. The entitlement to vote by all the people of Rome allowed for a division of power among all the people, distributed highly to the authoritative figures, such as the Senators and Consuls, yet fairly down to the Tribunes, and created a mixed constitution in Rome. Thus, the absence of individual imperium was eliminated and to the benefit of all Rome's citizens

Voters of the Comitia Tributa were chosen according to their districts or localities, and were assemblies of the entire people. This unit originally consisted of four tribes in Rome, but eventually branched out to include citizens that did not live in the city. The Concilium Plebis was a group narrowed to the Plebs alone.

The censor was the one according to whose censio, that is "judgement" or "rating," the people should be censeri ["asssesed," "rated"].

The Aristocratic development of Rome beco

Some common words found in the essay are:
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