PRŌVINCĬA

This word is merely a shortened form of provident i a , and was frequently used in the sense of “a duty” or “matter entrusted to a person.” But it is ordinarily employed to denote a part of the Roman dominion beyond Italy, which had a regular organisation, and was under Roman administration. Livy likewise uses the word to denote a district or enemy’s country, which was a igned to a general as the field of his operations, before the establishment of any provincial governments.—The Roman state in its complete development consisted of two parts with a distinct organisation, Italia and the Provinciae . There were no Provinciae in this sense of the word till the Romans had extended their conquests beyond Italy; and Sicily was the first country that was made a Roman province: Sardinia was made a province B.C. 235. The Roman province of Gallia Ulterior in the time of Caesar was sometimes designated simply by the term Provincia, a name which has been perpetuated in the modern Provence. A conquered country received its provincial organisation either from the Roman commander, whose acts required the approval of the senate; or the government was organised by the commander and a body of commi ioners appointed by the senate out of their own number. The mode of dealing with a conquered country was not uniform. When constituted a provincia, it did not become to all purposes an integral part of the Roman state; it retained its national existence, though it lost its sovereignty. The organisation of Sicily was completed by P. Rupilius with the aid of ten legates. The island was formed into two districts, with Syracuse for the chief town of the eastern and Lilybaeum of the western district: the whole island was administered by a governor annually sent from Rome. He was a isted by two quaestors, and was accompanied by a train of praecones, scribae, haruspices, and other persons, who formed his cohors. The quaestors received from the Roman aerarium the nece ary sums for the administration of the island, and they also collected the taxes, except those which were farmed by the censors at Rome. One quaestor resided at Lilybaeum, and the other with the governor or praetor at Syracuse. For the administration of justice the island was divided into Fora or Convent us , which were territorial divisions. [ Convent us . ] The island was bound to furnish and maintain soldiers and sailors for the service of Rome, and to pay tributum for the carrying on of wars. The governor could take provisions for the use of himself and his cohors on condition of paying for them. The Roman state had also the port or i a which were let to farm to Romans at Rome. The governor had complete jurisdictio in the island, with the imperium and potestas. He could delegate these powers to his quaestors, but there was always an appeal to him, and for this and other purposes he made circuits through the different convent us.—Such was the organisation of Sicilia as a province, which may be taken as a sample of the general character of Roman provincial government. The governor, upon entering on his duties, published an edict, which was often framed upon the Edictum Urbanum. Cicero, when proconsul of Cilicia, says that on some matters he framed an edict of his own, and that as to others he referred to the Edicta Urbana. There was one great distinction between Italy and the provinces as to the nature of property in land. Provincial land could not be an object of Quiritarian ownership, and it was accordingly appropriately called Po e io. Provincial land could be transferred without the forms required in the case of Italian land, but it was subject to the payment of a land-tax ( vectigal ).—The Roman provinces up to the battle of Actium are: Sicilia, Sardinia et Corsica; Hispania Citer i or et Ulterior; Gallia Citer i or; Gallia Narbonensis et Comata; Illyricum; Macedonia; Achaia; Asia; Cilicia; Syria; Bithynia et Pontus; Cyprus; Africa; Cyrenaica et Creta; Numidia; Mauri tan i a. Those of a subsequent date, which were either new or arose from division, are: Rhaetia; Noricum; Pannonia; Moesia; Dacia; Britannia; Mauri tan i a Caesar i ens is and Ting it an a; A egypt us; Cappadocia; Galatia; Rhodus; Lycia; Comma gene; Judaea; Arabia; Me so pot am i a; Armenia; As syria.—At first praetors were appointed as governors of provinces, but afterwards they were appointed to the government of provinces, upon the expiration of their year of office at Rome, and with the title of propraetores. In the later times of the republic, the consuls also, after the expiration of their year of office, received the government of a province, with the title of pro cons ules: such provinces were called consul a res. The provinces were generally distributed by lot, but the distribution was sometimes arranged by agreement among the persons entitled to them. By a Sempronian Lex the proconsular provinces were annually determined before the election of the consuls, the object of which was to prevent all disputes. A senatus consultum of the year 55 B.C. provided that no consul or praetor should have a province till after the expiration of five years from the time of his consulship or praetorship. A province was generally held for a year, but the time was often prolonged. When a new governor arrived in his province, his predece or was required to leave it within thirty days. The governor of a province had originally to account at Rome ( ad urbem ) for his administration, from his own books and those of his quaestors; but after the pa ing of a Lex Julia, B.C. 61, he was bound to deposit two copies of his accounts ( rationes ) in the two chief cities of his province, and to forward one ( totidem verb is ) to the aerarium. If the governor misconducted himself in the administration of the province, the provincials applied to the Roman senate, and to the powerful Romans who were their patron i. The offences of repetundae and peculatus were the usual grounds of complaint by the provincials; and if a governor had betrayed the interests of the state, he was also liable to the penalties attached to majestas. Qua est i ones were established for inquiries into these offences; yet it was not always an easy matter to bring a guilty governor to the punishment that he deserved.—With the establishment of the imperial power under August us, a considerable change was made in the administration of the provinces. August us took the charge of those provinces where a large military force was required; the rest were left to the care of the senate and the Roman people. Accordingly we find in the older jurists the division of provinciae into those which were propriae populi Romani , and those which were propriae Caesar is ; and this division, with some modifications, continued to the third century. The senatorian provinces were distributed among consul a res and those who had filled the office of praetor, two provinces being given to the consul a res and the rest to the praetor i i: these governors were called pro cons ules , or praesides , which latter is the usual term employed by the old jurists for a provincial governor. The praesides had the jurisdictio of the praetor urban us and the praetor peregrin us: and their quaestors had the same jurisdiction that the curule aediles had at Rome. The imperial provinces were governed by legati Caesar is , with praetorian power, the proconsular power being in the Caesar himself, and the legati being his deputies and representatives. The legati were selected from those who had been consuls or praetors, or from the senators. They held their office and their power at the pleasure of the emperor; and he delegated to them both military command and jurisdictio, just as a proconsul in the republican period delegated these powers to his legati. These legati had also legati under them. No quaestors were sent to the provinces of the Caesar. In place of the quaestors, there were pro curat ores Caesar is , who were either equites or freedmen of the Caesar. Egypt was governed by an eques with the title of praefect us. The pro curat ores looked after the taxes, paid the troops, and generally were intrusted with the interests of the fisc us. Judaea, which was a part of the province of Syria, was governed by a procurator, who had the powers of a legatus. It appears that there were also pro curat ores Caesar is in the senatorian provinces, who collected certain dues of the fisc us, which were independent of what was due to the aerarium. The regular taxes, as in the republican period, were the poll-tax and land-tax. The taxation was founded on a census of persons and property, which was established by August us. The port or i a and other dues were farmed by the public an i, as in the republican period.