ABSTRACT
After Ancient Rome’s last king, Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown in 510 BC, a republic was established in which a Senate of three hundred members was elected annually from the patrician class in general, and from the heads of great families in particular. From around 500 BC, and at times of emergency, the Senate had the authority to appoint a dictator, who for six months had absolute authority to deal with the crisis. The fiscal management of Rome was in the hands of quaestors , senior bureaucrats who assisted the consuls. The conquest of the many areas of the Italian Peninsula not under Roman control still remained very much on the agenda. What is certain, however, was that the wall severely constrained the outward growth of Rome despite its world renown, while the existing built-up area became a rabbit warren, largely devoid of magnificent buildings or any form of town planning for centuries to come.
