Consuls

There was a tradition that King Servius, after regulating the constitution of the state, intended to abolish the kingly power, and substitute for it the annual magistracy of the consulship; and whatever we may think of the tradition, the person who devised it must have had a deep insight into the nature of the Roman state and its institutions; and the fact that on the abolition of royalty, it was instituted forthwith, seems, at any …

…the soldiers, and sometimes they sold it, and deposited the produce in the public treasury, which in later times became the usual practice. Abuse of the consular power was prevented, first of all, by each of the consuls being dependent on his colleague who was invested with equal rights; for, if we except the provinces abroad where each was permitted to act with unlimited power, the two consuls could do nothing unless both were unanimous