 The History of the Roman Constitution is a study of Ancient Rome that traces the progression of Roman political development from the founding of the city of Rome in 753 BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD . The constitution of the Roman Kingdom vested the sovereign power in the King of Rome . The king did have two rudimentary checks on his authority , which took the form of a board of elders ( the Roman Senate ) and a popular assembly ( the Curiate Assembly ) . The arrangement was similar to the constitutional arrangements found in contemporary Greek city @-@ states ( such as Athens or Sparta ) . These Greek constitutional principles probably came to Rome through the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia in southern Italy . The Roman Kingdom was overthrown in 510 BC , according to legend , and in its place the Roman Republic was founded . 
