emarkable development of Rome in
government from the old hereditary nobility, in which priest-kings
ruled the people, to a military king who was leader, subsequently into
a republic which stood the test for several centuries of a fierce
struggle for the rights of the people, finally into an imperial
government to last for 450 years, represents the growth of one of the
most remarkable governments in the world's history. The fundamental
idea in government was the ruling of an entire state from the central
city, and out of this idea grew imperialism as a later development,
vesting all authority in a single monarch. The governments of
conquered provinces were gradually made over into the Roman system.
The Roman municipal government was found in all the cities of the
provinces, and the provincial government became an integral part of the
Roman system. The provinces were under the supervision of imperial
officers appointed by the emperor. Thus the tendency was to bind the
whole government into one unified system, with its power and authority
at Rome. So long as this central authority remained and had its full
sway there was little danger of the decline of Roman power, but when
disintegration began in the central government the whole structure was
doomed.

One of the remarkable characteristics of the Roman government was a
system of checks of one part by every other part. Thus, in the
republic, the consuls were checked by the senate, the senate by the
consular power, the various assemblies, such as the Curiata, Tributa,
and Centuriata, each having its own particular powers, were checks upon
each other and upon other departments of the government. The whole
system of {259} magistrates was subject to the same checks or limits in
authority. And while impeachment was not introduced, each officer, at
the close of his term, was accountable for his actions while in office.
But under imperialism the tendency was to break down the power of each
separate form of government and to absorb it in the imperial power.
Thus Augustus soon attributed to himself the power of the chief
magistrates and obtained a dominating power in the senate until the
functions of government were all centralized in the emperor. While
this made a strong government, in many phases it was open to great
dangers, and in due time it failed, as a result of the corruption that
clustered around the despotism of a single ruler unchecked by
constitutional power.