History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
The history of the Constitution of the Roman Republic is a study of the ancient Roman Republic that traces the progression of Roman political development from the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC until the founding of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. The constitutional history of the Roman Republic can be divided into five phases. The first phase began with the revolution which overthrew the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and the final phase ended with the revolution which overthrew the Roman Republic, and thus created the Roman Empire, in 27 BC. Throughout the history of the republic, the constitutional evolution was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens.
Praefectus urbi
When the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (reigned 27 BC – 14 AD), transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire in 27 BC, he reformed the office of Prefect at the suggestion of his minister and friend Maecenas. Again elevated into a magistracy, Augustus granted the "praefectus urbi" all the powers needed to maintain order within the city. The office’s powers also extended beyond Rome itself to the ports of Ostia and the Portus Romanus, as well as a zone of one hundred Roman miles (c. 140 km) around the city. Acting as a quasi-mayor of Rome, the Prefect was the superintendent of all guilds and corporations ("collegia"), held the responsibility (via the "praefectus annonae") of the city's provision with grain from overseas, the oversight of the officials responsible for the drainage of the Tiber and the maintenance of the city's sewers and water supply system, as well as its monuments. The provisioning of the city's large population with the grain dole was especially important; when the Prefect failed to secure adequate supplies, riots often broke out.