During the time of 500 B.C. there were two men who were in charge called consuls (women were not allowed to take that position) Consuls were in charge of the army, so they were allowed to declare war. They had the privilege of being able to make laws and set tax prices. They both had to agree on the statement. If one said “veto” which in Latin means “I forbid it” then nothing could or would be done.
Officials did a variety of different jobs from being a judge to organizing festivals. Officials were right under the consuls but they were also known as magistrates. They only served on a 1-year basis but they all did different jobs.
The Senate included only men from wealthy families in Rome, since women were again forbidden in this part of government. The Senate liked to give advice to the consuls because normally consuls would advance to the Senate. There was no advancement in once you got to the Senate.
Another lead person was a prefect. They run the city as in running court cases, the vegetable and meat markets or the port. Next there were the tribunes. They represented the poorer people in Rome. They received their job by being elected by the Assembly. They could forbid/veto anything at all that the Senate made a law for that had an impact on the poor. This job was only for men.
The last job was the Assembly. To be legible for this job you had to a grown-up man, free and a Roman citizen. They got to participate in big decisions if the consuls requested it of them. They even got to elect the consuls, prefects, and the Senators. The downside of this job was that people who had more money got more votes than people with less money.
