what was the roman political system?
Autocracy
entailment
 Roman government was headed by two consuls , elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates . As Roman society was very hierarchical by modern standards , the evolution of the Roman government was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians , Rome 's land @-@ holding aristocracy , who traced their ancestry to the founding of Rome , and the plebeians , the far more numerous citizen @-@ commoners . Over time , the laws that gave patricians exclusive rights to Rome 's highest offices were repealed or weakened , and leading plebeian families became full members of the aristocracy . The leaders of the Republic developed a strong tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war , making military and political success inextricably linked . Many of Rome 's legal and legislative structures ( later codified into the Justinian Code , and again into the Napoleonic Code ) can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states and international organizations . 

entailment
 Roman society had multiple , overlapping social hierarchies that modern concepts of " class " in English may not represent accurately . The two decades of civil war from which Augustus rose to sole power left traditional society in Rome in a state of confusion and upheaval , but did not effect an immediate redistribution of wealth and social power . From the perspective of the lower classes , a peak was merely added to the social pyramid . Personal relationships — patronage , friendship ( amicitia ) , family , marriage — continued to influence the workings of politics and government , as they had in the Republic . By the time of Nero , however , it was not unusual to find a former slave who was richer than a freeborn citizen , or an equestrian who exercised greater power than a senator . 

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 The three major elements of the Imperial Roman state were the central government , the military , and provincial government . The military established control of a territory through war , but after a city or people was brought under treaty , the military mission turned to policing : protecting Roman citizens ( after 212 AD , all freeborn inhabitants of the Empire ) , the agricultural fields that fed them , and religious sites . Without modern instruments of either mass communication or mass destruction , the Romans lacked sufficient manpower or resources to impose their rule through force alone . Cooperation with local power elites was necessary to maintain order , collect information , and extract revenue . The Romans often exploited internal political divisions by supporting one faction over another : in the view of Plutarch , " it was discord between factions within cities that led to the loss of self @-@ governance " . 

entailment
 Since the fall of the Republic , the authority of the Roman Senate had largely eroded under the quasi @-@ monarchical system of government established by Augustus , known as the Principate . The Principate allowed the existence of a de facto dictatorial regime , while maintaining the formal framework of the Roman Republic . Most Emperors upheld the public facade of democracy , and in return the Senate implicitly acknowledged the Emperor 's status as a de facto monarch . 

entailment
 The Senate 's control over some of the Roman provinces helped maintain a republican façade for the autocratic Principate . Also , Octavian 's control of entire provinces followed Republican @-@ era precedents for the objective of securing peace and creating stability , in which such prominent Romans as Pompey had been granted similar military powers in times of crisis and instability . 
