What type of government did the Romans have during the republic?

Answer 1

The ancient Romans had three major forms of government during the almost 900 years of their existence including when the empire was divided into an eastern and western half.

1. Monarchy (king )

2. Republic ( balance of powers )

3. Constitutional Monarchy ( Imperator driven )

The last system always tried to give the semblance of the old republic, however for all practical purposes the emperor had supreme control of the empire's affairs. As example, control of the military and the power to appoint or remove members of the Senate. The Assembly also remained, and emperors would "propose" laws and policies to both organizations. The term of "king" was always avoided.

4. The term of "dictator" was used in times of extreme crisis. Julius Caesar as example was bestowed by the Senate to be dictator for life.

Answer 2

The Roman Republic did not have a centralised executive, like a cabinet or an administration. The Romans elected all the executive officers of state. There were five types of officers of state who operated independently within the remit of their offices. They did not have joint cabinet meetings to discuss governmental policy together. This was because matters of policy were decided mostly by the senate. They were elected annually, except for the censors who were elected every 18 months. Two consuls were the joint heads of the Republic. The praetors were chief justices, the censors held the census (which was more of a property assessment than a head count), oversaw public morality, enrolled the senators and commissioned public works; the aediles performed numerous administrative functions and the quaestors were the treasurers.

The senate was not an elected body. It was composed of patricians (aristocrats) and former executive officers of state. Its members were enrolled by the censors. It was not a legislative body either. It neither drafted bills not voted on legislation. It was meant to be an advisory body for the heads of the Republic (the consuls). It was the body where matters of policy were discussed and recommendations for the consuls were made. Although it policy resolutions were meant to be just advisory, the consuls rarely went against them. This meant that it was the senate which usually made the policy decisions. Given that the short term of office of the consuls and the other officers of state, the senate provided policy continuity. This made it the most powerful political body in the Republic. The senate also supervised the treasury and the quaestors. Imperial expansion made the senate even more powerful. It became the body which enabled the co-ordination of the deployment of several armies at the same time during Rome's various wars. It also co-ordinated the establishment of Roman colonies (settlements) around the empire and it became the body which provided the governors of the Roman provinces (conquered territories). The governors were chosen by the senators from among themselves.

The Roman Republic had three popular assemblies, the Assembly of the Soldiers which gathered all the soldiers; the Assembly of the Tribes which included all Roman citizens in assembly for each of the tribes (which were Rome's administrative areas); and the Plebeian Council which was the assembly of the plebeians, the commoners. The Assembly of the Soldiers voted on war and peace and elected the senior officers of state (the consuls, the praetors and the censors). The voting system of this assembly was heavily stacked in favour of the rich. The Assembly of the Tribes elected the junior ones (the aediles and the quaestors). Until 82 BC the Assembly of the Soldiers also acted as a court of appeal for capital punishment cases and the Assembly of the Tribes acted as a court of appeal for other cases. The Plebeian Council elected the political representatives of the plebeians, the plebeian tribunes. They were not officers of state.

The plebeian tribunes presided over the meeting of the Plebeian Council. They had the authority to appeal against actions by the officers of state they deemed to be harmful to the interests of the plebeians and they were the only people who could veto laws. However, they could veto the act of making a law, not the actual measure. Therefore, they had to be present when the act was taking place.

In the Early Republic, bills were proposed by the consuls and were voted on by the soldiers gathered in the Assembly of the Soldiers. Later in the Republic the plebeian tribunes became the main proposers of bills and the Plebeian Council became the main legislative body. The resolutions of this council were called plebiscites, which is the origin of the current use of this word.

Answer 3

You need to clarify your question if you want to make it possible to answer it. Which government did the Romans take control of?

Answer 4

a tripartite

Answer 5

A Republic/Democracy