Roman Empire
In principle, Emperors had absolute control and could do as they pleased. In practice, they faced some difficult problems. They had a staff of what would be called "civil servants" and the advice of the Roman Senate. The emperor had to decide the most important issues facing the empire,and what should be done about them. Most of them tried to do two things. One was doing things to improve the life of Romans in peacetime. The other was fighting and defeating Rome's enemies, which the wealthy empire always had.