Social Sciences and History / Unit 3 SSH 0219 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Republic's Institutions
Captions available
The idea
Rome sat on defensible hills by a ford of the Tiber at a crossroads of trade. The Centuriate Assembly made laws; two consuls with imperium held near-unlimited power for a year each; the Senate, aristocrats for life, controlled finances.
In practice
Twelve lictors preceding a consul; each consul checking the other.
Where people slip
A few families worked behind the forms. The design lasted about five centuries.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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