Roman governor

• 1. Judicial And Military Authority

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  A Roman governor served as the province's chief judge. He held the sole right to impose capital punishment on those accused of crimes within his jurisdiction. Capital cases were normally tried before him alone in the provincial court. To appeal a governor's decision required travelling all the way to Rome and presenting one's case before either the praetor urbanus or even the Emperor himself. This process was expensive and thus rare for most citizens. An appeal was unlikely to succeed anyway since a governor would not generally take the chance of convicting someone contrary to the Emperor's wishes. The governor was also supposed to travel across his province to administer justice in the major towns where his attention was required. Finally, and most importantly, he commanded the military forces within the province. In more important provinces this could consist of legions but elsewhere there were only auxiliaries. As part of his standing orders the governor had authority to use his legions to stamp out organized criminal gangs or rebels without need for the Emperor's or Senate's approval.

• 2. Republican Appointment Systems

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  During the era of the Roman Republic the council was in charge of appointing governors to Rome's provinces. This was done by appointing promagistrates to serve either by random casting of lots or by senatus consultum which meant advice of the Senate. These appointments were not formally binding on a legal basis and could be nullified by Roman assemblies. Initially a governor or general's title pro praetore or pro consule was determined by the last held previous urban magistracy. Former praetors were prorogued in place of a praetor while former consuls were pro consule. This system started to break down after private citizens were given commands in Spain pro consule during the Second Punic War. By the late republic praetors were almost always prorogued pro consule. The provinces that ex-praetors were assigned regardless of formal title were usually the more tranquil ones where chances of revolt or invasion were small. Provinces where imminent military campaigning was expected were instead assigned to recent consuls. These promagistrates held equality with other magistrates with the same level of imperium and were attended by the same number of lictors. Generally speaking they had autocratic power within their provinces.

• 3. Imperial Provincial Divisions

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  After Augustus established the Principate the Emperor himself became the direct governor of Rome's most important provinces called imperial provinces. Even in the provinces he did not directly govern he remained senior to other provincial governors through holding imperium maius or supreme imperium. In imperial provinces the Emperor would appoint legates to govern in his name. The Emperor had sole say in the appointing of these legates who were lower in rank than other provincial governors as officially they were only representatives of the province's true governor the Emperor. The Principate did not totally do away with the system of selecting proconsuls and propraetors. In provinces with one legion a legate bearing praetorian imperium thus being a propraetor governed the province in the Emperor's name and also controlled the legion himself. However in provinces with more than one legion each legion was commanded by its own legate with praetorian imperium while the province as a whole was commanded by a legate with consular imperium. Appointment to these governorships was completely at the whim of the Emperor and could last anywhere from one to five years.

• 4. Equestrian Procuratorial Rule

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  The Emperor also had under his control a number of smaller but potentially difficult provinces that did not need an entire legion. These provinces were put under the control of governors of equestrian status. New conquests generally fell into this equestrian category but most were later changed in status to reflect the changing conditions of Rome's growing empire. Thus on conquest a province would become a procuratorial province until it was decided that it should become either an imperial or senatorial province. Like the other imperial provinces the equestrian governors could serve any length of time up to five years or even longer. Much like the senatorial province of Africa the equestrian province of Roman Egypt was an exception to the general rule of legions only being stationed in imperial provinces. Egypt was not a normal province; it was considered the personal possession of the Emperor and its governor the praefectus Aegypti was considered to hold the highest ranking equestrian post during the early Empire. Later the post would fall second to that of the praetorian command but its position remained highly prestigious. Though the practice of appointing equestrians to help manage provinces officially began with Augustus governors from years before had appointed procurators to help them govern.

• 5. Diocletianic Administrative Reforms

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  Under the Dominate the Emperor Diocletian began in AD 293 reforms of the provincial administration that were completed under the Emperor Constantine the Great in 318. Diocletian set up twelve dioceses later several were split originally two to four for each of the four co-emperors under the short-lived Tetrarchy. Each governed by a vicarius who acted on behalf of the praetorian prefect. Each diocese comprised several Roman provinces known in Greek as eparchies each under the authority of a provincial governor whose title varied from province to province. The range of titles included republican relics such as proconsul as well as novelties such as corrector provinciae moderator provinciae praeses provincia and praesidens. Although the vicar's authority was supreme within his diocese he was under the authority of praetorian prefect whose power he partook of the emperor himself. Constantine completely removed the governors' military commands a process begun under Diocletian. In those provinces where soldiers were stationed the dux commanded border military units. Some duces commanded units in several provinces and they were watched by the diocesan vicars.