Today, we learned that in ancient Rome, the instant any military official set foot in the city of Rome, they were immediately stripped of all military power for the duration of their visit. From the lowest-rank footsoldiers all the way up to the generals, everyone was a civilian while in Rome.
This strikes me as a really good way to prevent abuse of power, at least in the ancient world. Any military force in the city of Rome is automatically illegal.
also this same rule meant that _any_ elected official, when leaving the city of Rome, was immediately considered "on military campaign" and held absolute power over life and death of others which seems a bit abusable even if it never seems to have been abused
Rome had a weird relationship with politics and military
Not that it _worked_ in the end, but still.