Government

The Government of Rome

Emperors were very important figures in ancient Rome. Although they did not exist at the start of the empire, Romans felt that one man was needed to act as a leader of the empire. The emperor did not have unlimited power because there were other important figures in the Roman government. Since the Romans did not want one man to make all of the laws, they decided to balance out the government between three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. Each branch of the Roman government did things their own way.
The Romans never had a written constitution, but their form of government, especially from the time 287 B.C., roughly parallels the modern American division of executive, legislative, and judicial branches, although the senate does not neatly fit any of these categories. One should be aware, however, of the difficulties surrounding the understanding of forms of government as well as most other issues during the first two centuries of the Republic.
In the Executive Branch there were two leaders called the consuls, they were elected for just one year by the upper class. They supervised the Senate and ordered the Roman army during wars. Other members of the executive branch were the tax collectors, mayors, city police and other people in positions of power in the city.
The expansion of the empire is an important reason for the rise of Roman taxes. In the earliest days of the Republic, Rome's taxes were quite modest, consisting mainly of a wealth tax on all forms of property, including land, houses, slaves, animals, money and personal effects. The basic rate was just .01 percent, although occasionally rising to .03 percent. It was assessed principally to pay the army during war. In fact, afterwards the tax was often rebated.
In the Legislative Branch the most powerful part was the senate. It was also called the advisory branch. The senate was a group of about 300 male citizens who owned the land. They could tell the consuls how much money they could spend and on what. These men were appointed by the consuls. The Judicial Branch had six judges who were elected every two years. They were in charge of deciding punishments that criminals would receive. Their job was similar to the job that judges have today in the United States. In Rome, one was not allowed to vote on laws or the elect leaders of the government until he was an adult. Even then, only men were allowed to have a say in the laws. The United States copied Rome's form of government.