WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -One consul headed the army. The other headed the rest of the government. So that one consul did not take too much power and become too much like a king or a dictator, each consul could veto, or reject, the other consul’s decision. “Veto” means “ I forbid” in Latin.

Detailed explanation-2: -The consuls had almost unlimited power, known as imperium, including the right to inflict the death penalty on law-breakers, and they were preceded everywhere by twelve bodyguards called lictors.

Detailed explanation-3: -Consuls had extensive powers in peacetime (administrative, legislative, and judicial), and in wartime often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rites which, as a sign of their formal importance, could only be carried out by the highest state officials.

Detailed explanation-4: -They commanded the army, convened and presided over the Senate and the popular assemblies and executed their decrees, and represented the state in foreign affairs.

Detailed explanation-5: -Consuls were elected by the citizen body and always governed in pairs, with each consul holding veto power over the other’s decisions. The two men would have total executive authority over the running of Rome and its provinces, holding office for one full year before both were replaced.