Fasces (laurum de fascibus)
A bundle of rods (often accompanied by an axe, which symbolized power over life-and-death) carried by Roman officials as a symbol of authority. Under the Republic, the consul or praetor when starting on an expedition took his vows on the Capitoline Hill; if acclaimed imperator by his troops he decked his fasces with laurel, and on his return deposited the wreath upon the Capitoline Hill in the place where he had made the vows as a symbol of his successful fulfillment of them.
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