Roman Censor (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The position of the censor (called censura) was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances. The censors' regulation of public morality is the origin of the modern meaning of the words "censor" and "censorship." The census was first instituted by Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome. After the expulsion of the kings and the founding of the Republic, the census was taken over by consuls until 443 BC. In 442 BC, no consuls were elected, but rather military tribunes with consular power were appointed in their stead; the plebeians were attempting to attain higher magistracies (since only patricians could be consuls, while some military tribunes were plebeians).