What was the role of a consul and senators?
The consul was elected annually in popular assemblies called “comitia”. The consul was the supreme magistrate, and had military and administrative powers. The “senatus” was an assembly composed of the oldest men from the aristocracy. The senators voted for (or against) the ratification of the laws approved in the “comitia.” They also answered questions proposed by the magistrates. These answers were called “senatus-consultos” and had the same power as laws. The kind of power exercised by the consul was called “imperium”, while the one exercised by the senate was the “auctoritas.” The people exercised the “maiestas.” The dictatorship in Rome was quite different from what people call dictatorship today. When there was a (economic, policital, etc) crisis and, subsequently, the power of the state was destabilized, the senators would choose a man to be the dictator. The dictator would then rule in an absolutely authoritarain way for just six months (usually until the crisis had finished).
