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The political structure was convoluted, but went something like this: Rome was ruled by two consuls. The consuls acted as the city's chief administrators as well as the military commanders. The consuls were elected annually by the "centuriate assembly" - the Roman army. To ensure unity of command in times of great danger a "dictator" could be appointed from the consuls who had complete power. The second power bloc in the Roman government was the Senate. The Senate was composed of approximately 300 "virtuous" men drawn from the leading families. According to theory the Senate was strictly an advisory body, but in fact it held enormous political clout (given that members were all filthy rich), and its "advice" was almost always followed. The Roman Republic became the model, for better and worse, for most republics that followed.