two consuls were in charge of the roman government.
who was in charge of the roman government?
two consuls
the consul of the roman republic was the highest-ranking ordinary magistrate. two consuls were elected for an annual term (from january through december) by the assembly of roman citizens, the "centuriate assembly". after they were elected, they were granted imperium powers by the assembly. if a consul died before his term ended, another consul (the "consul suffectus"), was elected to complete the original consular term. throughout the year, one consul was superior in rank to the other consul. this ranking flipped every month, between the two consuls. once a consul's term ended, he held the honorary title of "consulare" for the rest of his time in the senate, and had to wait for ten years before standing for re-election to the consulship. consuls had supreme power in both civil and military matters, which was due, in part, to the fact that they held the highest ordinary grade of "imperium" (command) powers. while in the city of rome, the consul was the head of the roman government. while components of public administration were delegated to other magistrates, the management of the government was under the ultimate authority of the consul. the consuls presided over the roman senate and the roman assemblies, and had the ultimate responsibility to enforce policies and laws enacted by both institutions. the consul was the chief diplomat, carried out business with foreign nations, and facilitated interactions between foreign ambassadors and the senate. upon an order by the senate, the consul was responsible for raising and commanding an army. while the consuls had supreme military authority, they had to be provided with financial resources by the roman senate while they were commanding their armies. while abroad, the consul had absolute power over his soldiers, and over any roman province.
executive magistrates of the roman republic
after the destruction of the second temple in 70 ce, the sanhedrin was re-established in yavneh by agreement between yochanan ben zakai and roman emperor vespasian. vespasian agreed in part due to the perception that the pharisees had not participated in the first revolt to the extent that other groups had. thus the sanhedrin in yavneh was comprised almost exclusively of pharisaic scholars. the imperial roman government recognized the sanhedrin. they regarded the head of the sanhedrin as their own paid government official with the status of prefect. roman legislation severely reduced the scope of its authority, but confirmed the body's ultimate authority in religious matters. in an attempt to quash revolutionary elements, rome in effect declared one form of judaism to be the only recognized form of religion. this led to persecution of sectarian groups, and attempts by these groups to find fault with the sanhedrin before the roman government.
modern attempts to revive the sanhedrin