Rome was a militaristic powerhouse; Carthage was an economic superpower. Carthage had running water, plumbing, toilets well before Rome. "The most powerful office in the Carthaginian government was held jointly by two magistrates elected annually known as suffetes (Latinized from the Punic sptm or shophetim and conventionally translated as ‘judges’). These had replaced the initial system of monarchy sometime in the early 7th century BCE, and so their association with purely judicial matters may too have widened in political scope as the office evolved. It is also possible that there was only one suffete in the first century or so of the new system. From the 5th century BCE electing two suffetes becomes standard, one leading the armed forces of Carthage when at war and the other running the government at home. Greek and Roman sources indicate that the suffetes operated in collaboration with the senate and were also concerned with civil lawsuits. Wealth and family background seem to have been …show more content…
In Roman society, the aristocrats were known as patricians. The highest positions in the government were held by two consuls, or leaders, who ruled the Roman Republic. A senate composed of patricians elected these consuls. At this time, lower-class citizens, or plebeians, had virtually no say in the government. Both men and women were citizens in the Roman Republic, but only men could vote.Tradition dictated that patricians and plebeians should be strictly separated; marriage between the two classes was even prohibited. Over time, the plebeians elected their own representatives, called tribunes, who gained the power to veto measures passed by the senate.Gradually, the plebeians obtained even more power and eventually could hold the position of consul. Despite these changes, though, the patricians were still able to use their wealth to buy control and influence over elected leaders ("The Roman Republic",