each consul commanded an army, usually two legions strong, with the help of military tribunes and a quaestor who had financial duties. in the rare case that both consuls marched together, each one held the command for a day in turn. a typical consular army was about 20,000 men strong and consisted of two citizen and two allied legions. in the early years of the republic, rome's enemies were in central italy, so campaigns lasted a few months.