imperium
imperiumwas the supreme power, involving command in war and the interpretation and execution of law (including the infliction of the death penalty), which belonged at Rome to the kings and, after their expulsion, to consuls, military tribunes with consular power (from 445 to 367 BC), praetors, dictators, and masters of the horse (magistri equitum). Viewed generally, imperium represents the supreme authority of the community in its dealings with the individual, and the magistrate in whom imperium is vested represents the community in all its dealings. In practical terms, imperium may be seen as the power to give orders and to exact obedience to them (cf. imperare, to command). It was symbolized by the fasces (rods of office) borne by the lictors, of which the dictator had 24, the consul 12, and the praetor 6, to which was added the axe when the magistrate left the precincts...
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