Power in the Roman Republic was divided between the people, the Senate, and the magistrates. Supreme legislative and judicial power rested with the people and was exercised through a complex system of popular assemblies. These various assemblies included the tribunal comitia (comitia tributa), the centurial comitia (comitia centuriata), the curial comitia (comitia curiata), and the plebiscite concilium.
The Senate, composed of patricians, exercised the highest political and administrative power. During the mature republic, this office began to play a leading role in the state.
The last power, the executive power, was exercised by officials (magistratus) creating a magistracy with limited powers and terms of office.
Officials were divided into ordinary (ordinarii) regularly elected for terms of office:
- Consuls – there were two of them, army commanders. The highest Roman officials became governors of the most important provinces. They had the legislative initiative.
- Praetors – supervised the judiciary, judges.
- Censors – appointed for 1, 5 years every 5 years. They kept a census (property status, number of children) and drew up lists of senators. They took care of the Rome budget and guarded the morality of the citizens.
- Aediles – dealt with public order (e.g. cleaning streets), organized games and distributed grain. They held their office for a year.
- Tribune of the Plebs – they protected the rights of the plebeians. The introduction of the office of people’s tribune was a great success. They had a limited right to veto the decisions of other officials.
- Quaestors – they were collecting taxes. They held their office for a year.
and on extraordinary (extraordinarii), appointed in special circumstances:
- interrex
- dictator
- magister equitum
- praefectus urbi
