Overview of the Government & Polity of Carthage
It is a common misconception amongst the other nations of the Mediterranean Basin that Carthage is governed its Navy, which holds absolute power. This is simply not true. The Carthaginian state is far more complex.
It is important to understand, firstly, that
no entity holds absolute authority in Carthage. Power is divided between many levels and several branches of government, each of which holds authority over specific issues, and each of which has something of a moderating effect on the powers of the others.
The first and simplest division in the Carthaginian state is between the civilian and military authorities. The Carthaginian civil government is founded upon a model not altogether unlike the Republic of their Italian rivals. Legislative power at the highest level resides primarilly with the powerful merchant and landed families, and executive power with a leader chosen by those families. The military is separate from this civil power structure. The Admiralty, which commands the Fleet, is the dominant military authority; the Army is a distant second in terms of influence and autonomy.
Carthage's unique historic institutions make it one of the more democratic polities in the Mediterranean, although it is by no means a popular democracy. Its government is also somewhat federal in nature, although this is more by accident than by design. At the highest levels of government are the Senate and the Sufete. The Senate is a legislative body made up of men from the wealthy and powerful families, primarilly those that own large amounts of land, control powerful trading enterprises, or hold great influence in the military. The Senate possesses most of the state's lawmaking power, and serves to regulate and moderate the decisions of the executive. The Senate regulates taxation and revenue, although actual spending is the office of the Sufete. Perhaps the Senate's most potent powers is the authority to declare war. Executive power rests with the Sufete, a sort of "temporary King", similar to the Roman Consul, who is elected by the Senate to a six-year term. The Sufete is responsible for establishing and guiding domestic and foreign policy, and maintaining law and order. Unlike most other states, this "supreme executive" does not hold military command.
The various governors of the nation serve under the authority of the Sufete. Regional government varies by local polity. The state is divided at the regional level into provinces, chartered townships, chartered cities, and free cities. The Province is a relatively large geographical region, under the direct administration of the Carthaginian government by way of a Governor appointed and managed by the Sufete. Provinces have the least autonomy of all subdivisions; the people of the province have little say in taxation and policy. The Chartered Township is a smaller geographical region than a Province, but larger and less densely populated than a city. Townships typically consist of several villages within the same area, which are incorporated together under a Charter from the Senate. The Township, while subject to taxation and policy mandates from the central government, is largely autonomous in deciding local laws; rather than a Governor, the Township is governed by a Town Council, elected by the local population, with only limited oversight from a Carthaginian official. The Chartered City is a geographically small, densely populated area, corresponding generally to a city and its outlaying villages. Chartered cities receive a Charter from the Senate, permitting them to governor themselves by way of an elected City Council with limited Carthaginian oversight, and to regulate their own taxation, so long as they pay an annual tribute mandated by the Carthaginian government and follow Carthaginian policy. Chartered cities are required to pay for their own defense in peacetime, and to raise troops for the Carthaginian military in wartime. Finally, Free Cities are the rarest and most autonomous polities in the Carthaginian state. Free Cities are large, wealthy, powerful cities, which have full autonomy in domestic affairs by way of a City Council. They must maintain their own defenses, provide troops in wartime, and pay a regular tribute to the Carthaginian government.
And power in Carthage devolves to even lower and more popular levels. Carthaginian citizens may at any time hold a Town Meeting (or Citizen Meeting in the Provinces) to discuss laws and policies, to state grievances with the government, and to petition for redress of those grievances. While the decisions made in a Town Meeting have no official legal weight, they often influence government decisions, and help express the will of the people.
Of course, the state cannot exercise its power without the military. The backbone of the Carthaginian military is its fleet, and this is under the command of the Admiralty. The Admiralty is led by the Grand Admiral, the second highest executive officer in Carthage. Under him are many Admirals and unit commanders, as well as various political officers, bureaucrats, agents, and even diplomats. The Army command is smaller and less powerful, consisting of various Generals and unit commanders, with a Major-General only being appointed by the Senate to lead the Army in wartime.
Despite this separation of powers, the miltary's influence is still greatly felt in the civil government, and this is why many historians have mistaken Carthage for a military state. The Sufete is aware that he must rely on the military -- above all, the Fleet -- to enforce his domestic and foreign policies. Furthermore, many members of the Senate also hold military office, are come from military families. Lastly, the Grand Admiral himself holds sway over vast funds, large numbers of men, and many agents of both the military and civil administrations. These influences combine to give the military a great deal of power over the civilian government -- so much so, it could be reasonably said that the Grand Admiral is the most powerful man in the government, even if he is not the official leader of the state.
In all, it could be reasonably said that Carthage is more an association of autonomous and semi-autonomous political entities than an absolute state. The Carthaginian "empire" is more a federation of associated cities and provinces, united by trade, culture, and the need for common defense. This peculiar system provides the Carthaginian people with a degree of political and economic freedom unrivaled in the Mediterannean world, and the Carthaginian state with a degree of flexibility impossible in centralized republics and monarchist states.
(OOC: Wow, rambled a lot more than I meant to.... are we confused yet?
And when are orders due?)
