For the Senate and People of Rome

There was a fundamental flaw in the constitution of the Roman Empire. It did not have one! The “constitution” was based on precedent, largely unwritten. It is not perhaps surprising. The purpose of the Roman State was to create wealth for sixty families, known as “Patricians.”

The wealth of the state was distributed amongst individuals from these families in proportion to the responsiblity each individual accepted for governance and the way this was achieved was made deliberately obscure.

Not only did Rome have no constitution but an imprecise legal structure. Judgements were made which were not based on written law or precedents. Each case was judged on it’s merits and the only predictable outcome was the decision was always to the advantage of the Patricians.