A/N: I'm doing most of this off the top of my head and from an set of Latin History notes I took for school, so you have my deepest apologies if any of it is wrong. If you notice mistakes, please tell me immediately. Oh, and don't take anything you've read in Rick Riordan's books or anything that seems like common sense as facts; Riordan kinda screwed up royally in the Roman portion. Allow me to explain: A "Centuria", or a Century as we would call it, has around 80 men and a Centurion commanding it. A Cohort has approximately 6 Centuries, or 480 men, making it more than double the size of the Twelfth "Legion". An actual legion has around 4800 men, which means 10 Cohorts, or 60 Centuries. The 4800 doesn't include non-combatants. And, of course, Julius Caesar wasn't assassinated inside the pomerium (there was no such thing as the Pomerian Line until Riordan made it up). I'm not insulting Riordan, he's an amazing author, I just feel he could've done some research. He made it a lot harder for me to put a Senate in New Rome that makes sense (i.e., not a bunch of sixteen year-olds screwing around, but a bunch of older statesmen who know what they're doing).

Everything You Need To Know:

Senate: 339 members as of current place in timeline.

Ten Second Version (Read this if you're lazy or impatient): The Freethinkers are liberals, and currently hold the majority. The Centrists are moderates. The New Roman Libertarian Front is new, and libertarian. The Fundamentalists are solid conservatives.

Quaestors are money-managers, Tribunes are representatives, Aediles are commissioners, Praetors are judges, Honorary Praetors are commanders, Consuls are generals, Censors take the census, and the Dictator is the big guy/girl on top. The Comitias elect these guys.

A Brief History of Recent Roman Politics:

A while ago, the Centrists were in power. Then, Octavian entered the Senate as part of the Fundamentalists and used his skills to depose the Centrists. The Titan War broke out, forcing the government of New Rome to borrow a bunch of money from banks. The Titan War ended, the Giant War began, forcing the government to borrow even more money. Octavian was presumed dead after the onager shot, and the Fundementalists fractured, about a third of their number flocking to a new banner: The New Roman Libertarian Front. Currently the Freethinkers, are in control of the Senate and are racking up even greater debt with social programs and a larger government.

New Rome Political Parties

Freethinkers (111)- Far left liberals, this group has been in power ever since Octavian was presumed dead. Due to their social programs and the cost of the two wars, they brought the government into very deep debt. They favor a larger government with more power.

Centrists (85)- Solid moderates, this party was in power for many years before Octavian joined the Senate. Very concerned with keeping things as they were, Octavian's charisma and oratory skills wrested the power from them. Centrists favor a middle-sized government with some powers.

New Roman Libertarian Coalition (NRLC) (37)- A fairly new party, having existed ever since Octavian died, the NRLC hasn't been in power yet. They are more economically conservative and socially liberal, but usually work with the popular movements. They favor a somewhat smaller government than the Centrists, with less power.

Fundamentalists (74)- Far right conservatives, this group was in power prior to Octavian's presumed death. After he "died", the New Roman Libertarian Front, which was formerly a part of the Fundamentalists, split off and became their own party. The Fundamentalists favor a much smaller government with far less power.

Independents (12): These Senators vote however they think is "right" or will give them positive publicity. With no loyalties and no real consistency, nobody likes them.

Terms

Imperium- the command of Roman troops. Dictatorial imperium supersedes Consular imperium, which supersedes Praetorian, which supersedes Aedilian. Those with imperium are assigned lictors, and can sit in the curule chair when exercising their imperium.

Lictor- A bodyguard that carries fasces. Are assigned to those with imperium.

Fasces- Bundles of sticks that can be used to beat citizens who were too slow to get out of the way of an imperium-wielding Senator. In times of Martial Law or outside of the Pomerian Line, an axe is added to the bundle, which means the lictor holding them or the Senator who the lictor is assigned to can execute anyone he encounters. Mostly ceremonial in New Rome, although they grew to be more needed after Terminus was moved to Olympus and thus unable to enforce the no-weapons rule inside of the Pomerian Line. . .

Curule- a ceremonial chair that only those with imperium can sit it. It isn't important at all.

Electing Bodies:

Comitia Tributa- Translated to Council of the Tribes, the Comitia Tributa is made up of the entire citizenry of New Rome (not the Legion, however it includes Senators). They are divided into thirty-five groups (called Tribes), all equal in every way possible (gender, amount of money, position). Each group has one vote, and they elect Quaestors and Curule Aediles. Other than that (in my story), they have no power.

Comitia Plebis- Translated to Council of the Plebeians, the Comitia Plebis is made up of only the citizenry of New Rome that identifies as Plebian (still no Legionnaires, but includes Senators). They are divided into thirty groups (called Curia), all equal in every possible way (again). Each group has one vote, they elect Tribunes and Aediles Plebis, and can pass laws governing the Plebeians.

Comitia Centuriata- Translated to Council of the Centuries, the Comitia Centuriata is made up of the entire citizenry of New Rome (not including the Legion, but includes Senators). They are divided into one-hundred different groups (called Centuries), arranged by the wealth and power of the people in it (The wealthiest and most powerful are part of the first Century, and it goes on), and thus, the Centuries aren't equal in numbers of people in them. Each Century gets one vote, they elect Consuls, Praetors, and Censors, and can declare war.

Senatorial Positions:

Position (# of them at a time)- Description

Quaestor (10)- Elected by the Comitia Tributa, they manage the Republic's treasury. This doesn't prevent a bit of money-laundering and/or stealing from the Treasury, however. After all, it takes a lot of money to be a Senator. In the late days of the Republic and the early days of the Empire, there were 20 quaestors, ten Patricians and ten Plebeians. I've downsized it to five Patricians and five Plebeians.

Tribune (5)- Elected by the Comitia Plebis, they represent the Plebeians and stop any legislation too "Patrician" from being passed. They have the power of veto, and can veto anything. If there's an official Senate they don't like, they can stop it. If there's even a court proceeding they don't like, they can stop the process. In addition, they are sacrosanct, meaning if anyone harms them while their in office, all the Plebs will rise up together and kill -without penalty- whoever wronged the Tribune. This is a very powerful and coveted position. I've also downsized this post from ten to five.

Curule Aediles (2)- Elected by the Comitia Tributa, these officials can be either Patrician or Plebeians (mostly Patricians), and commission public buildings, Roman festivals, games, markets, etc, usually out of their own pocket as well. As Senators today in general aren't as rich as Senators were back during the Empire or Republic, the Aediles can't fund very much, only the occasional triumph and such. Most gladiator or chariot games are funded by a group of Senators completely independent from the Aediles, whereas in the olden days, Aediles would also host entertainment. This is a position often skipped on the Cursus Honorum. They have imperium, two lictors, and serve one-year terms.

Aediles Plebis (2)- Elected by the Comitia Plebis, they assist the Tribunes in occasion with their duties, but mostly fill the same role as the Curule Aediles. These Aediles can only be Plebeians, however, and cannot sit in the curule chair. This is a position often skipped on the Cursus Honorum. They do not have imperium or lictors, and serve one-year terms.

Praetor (8)- Elected by the Comitia Centuratia, these are basically judges with a side-line of military command. In this story, they're sorted into two catagories: Praetors and Honorary Praetors. The regular Praetors handle judicial matters for the most part, but step in for a while if one of the Honorary Praetors resigns, dies or is otherwise unfit for duty. The Honorary Praetors are those who command the Legion on the field (Reyna, Jason, Percy for a time, etc.), and elected by the Legion. They do not have a vote in the Senate and are not elected by the Comitia Centuratia. There are six Praetors and two Honorary Praetors, adding up to the eight. They all have imperium, six lictors apiece (only two are allowed inside the Pomerian Line at a time), and serve one-year terms.

Consul (2)- Elected by the Comitia Centuratia, these command the Legion more generally in strategy, while the Honorary Praetors command them from the field. In a sense, the Consuls handle the whole military campaign, while Praetors handle individual battles. They switch off imperium every month, have twelve lictors apiece and serve one-year terms.

Censor (2)- Elected by the Comitia Centuratia, these guys take the census, oversee public morality (what's allowed in public), they also oversee the police (not originally, I just added that in), and supervise a few parts of the Treasury. One must be Plebeian. No imperium or lictors, and are elected for one-year terms.

Dictator (1)- Nominated by the Consuls with Senate approval, this guy has absolute power. He can overrule, depose or put to death other Senators with imperium, has the highest imperium, and twenty-four lictors. This is a position that someone is elected to only in a last-case scenario or if huge, sweeping changes needed to be made. (To appease a rebellion, put down a rebellion, command soldiers, the like.). In addition, a dictator can have a few ceremonial duties (holding elections) or religious duties. A dictator is elected very, very, rarely. They have imperium, twenty-four lictors, and serve a six-month term, after which they must step down.

Cursus Honorum (Course of Honor):

Patrician Side:

Quaestor to Aedile to Praetor to Consul

Plebeian Side

Quaestor to Tribune to Aedile to Praetor to Consul

*Dictators and Censors are kinda off to the side of the Cursus Honorum, although a per-requisit for either of these roles is a former Consulship.

A/N: Congratulations, if you made it all the way through. You don't need to know this all by heart, it's just helpful. And wow, this ended up being way longer than I thought it would be.