fasces

fasces
In ancient Rome, bundles of rods bound with thongs that symbolized regal or magisterial authority both within and outside Rome. After the expulsion of the Etruscan kings, consuls had twelve fasces (a dictator 24), praetors six, lesser magistrates fewer. Originally axes were included in the bundle; but from the early republic the axe was removed in Rome, in deference to the ultimate power of the people in capital cases. In 1919 Musssolini used the symbol for his political party, which derived its name, fascism , from this word.