From a Republic to an Empire
There was no dictator, Julius Caesar (the dictator once they had one) hadn't come along yet. So the citizens of Rome elected representatives who ran the government,just like we do today. There were three main "branches" of Rome each branch had a little control of the other. The oldest and most powerful was the senate. The senate was controlled by partisans who were noble and owned big pieces of land. They also had lots of manes, it was the senates job to control how Rome behaves toward Its neighbors. They also controlled how Rome's money was spent. The second branch was the assembly, they were a group of representatives elected by every person that wasn't a slave. They needed that protection because they didn't know what their rights were. The patricians were the only ones who knew all the Roman laws. The patrictians also agreed to write the laws down on a tablet of stone and post them in the forum for all to see. The laws were seen as the "twelve tables". The third branch was the consuls, who served for a year. They were elected by the assembly but mostly did what the senate told them to do. The consuls were Rome's old military leaders and highest judges. They had a lot of power! There was no dictator, Julius Caesar (the dictator once they had one) hadn't come along yet. So the citizens of Rome elected representatives who ran the government, is the same we do today. There were three main branches of Rome each branch had a little control of the other.The oldest and most powerful was the senate, the senate was controlled by partisans who were noble and owned big pieces of land. It was the senates job to control how Rome behaved to their neighbors. They also controlled how Rome's money was spent.