Roman Governor

A Roman Gouverneur is a civil servant or magistrate Roman elected or named, and more particularly in charge under the Empire of the direction of the Roman provinces. During enough a long period, Latin does not have an exact equivalent of our general term governor, the Latin word : Rector provinciae can approach some. A general term to appoint the governors whatever their statute is essential on the 3rd century: praeses . With our name " gouverneur" thus several statutes according to the nature of the province correspond. Only the proconsuls and Propréteur S are Promagistrat S. the Procurateur S which appear with Auguste can be regarded as civils servant depending only on the emperor.

Under the Republic

During the Roman Republic, the senate was in load of the management of the provinces and named the governors. The level of authority which the governor had was function of the type of '' imperium '' which it had. The majority of the provinces were controlled by propréteurs, who had been elected the previous year Préteur. The proprétures were in general quietest of the provinces, where the possibilities of revolts and invasions were weak.

The threatened or more important provinces, which laid out of Roman camps permanent, were controlled by the proconsuls having occupied during the previous year the function of consul, most important of the magistratures.

These promagistrats held an authority equivalent to the others with the same level of imperium and had under their orders, the same number of Licteur S. Généralement, they exerted the same autocratic power not suffering from limitation of authority. They used largely of this authority to extort great quantities of money from the populations. Profiting from an immunity lasting to them imperium , they could have to give an account of their corrupt practices, once the lost imperium , with the image of Verrès governor of Sicily attacked by its old managed which were defended by Cicéron. The possibilities of enrichment and the capacity drawn from the command of a provincial large army made government of the largest provinces a major stake at the end of the Republic, when large the imperatores clashed in duel in bottom of the Palatine Hill.

Early empire

After the seizure of Auguste on the empire a division was carried out in -27 which distributes the types of governments between the emperor and the senators.

Governors in the provinces of the Roman people

Provinces known as " sénatoriales" , but whose real name was province of the Roman people were controlled, as under the Republic, by a senator having title of proconsul. It was however about a former praetor except for the provinces of Africa and Asia controlled each one by a former consul, in general about fifteen years after its consulate: it was then the top of its career. The term of the office was in general of a year, except exception, the change of governor being done about the middle of the calendar year. These provinces of the Roman people oldest and were romanisées. Quiet, they did not have legions, except the Roman Africa, having a legion intended to contain the tribes Berbères. This legion remained under the orders of the proconsul until under Caligula. It was then assigned to the Numidie under the orders of a legate propretor: it was about an imperial province in fact, even if officially it continued to be attached to Africa proconsulaire. In the province of Asia and that of Africa, the proconsul was made assist by his legates (not to be confused with the legates propréteurs of the emperor): they were young senators close to the governor to whom he could delegate part of his functions. Each one of its governors had at his disposal six Licteur S, being used at the same time as bodyguards and symbols of their authority. It was made accompany by its close relations who could help it and advise it, it is the cohors amicorum

Governors in the imperial provinces

During the Principat, the emperor control surface in theory itself certain provinces, called imperial provinces. It is the emperor who holds the imperium on these provinces. In these provinces, a legate of the emperor propretor (legatus augusti pro praetore) control surface in the name of the emperor and by delegation of sound imperium . In the facts and taking into account the communications, it could enjoy a rather broad initiative within the limit the mandates which the emperor had fixed to him. In the provinces having a legion, the legate was of Praetorian row: he was a former praetor. If the province counted more than one legion, the legate was a former consul and had under his orders of the legates of legions which did not have the title of propretor. The duration of the governments lasted from 1 to 5 years, being able to be stopped constantly by the emperor.

The Egypt was a particular province because it was personal possession of the emperor. It named at its head a prefect of Egypt, praefectus aegypti , more the high ranking of the equestrian order during the Early empire after the prefect of the court. This prefect of Egypt also had a complete legion directed by a prefect resulting from the equestrian order: the senators could not go to Egypt without authorization of the emperor.

The emperor also has under his control a certain number of provinces smaller, but potentially difficult, without however requiring a complete legion. These provinces were put under the responsibility of a Roman Chevalier named directly by the emperor and having the title of Procurateur. The new conquests often formed part of these provinces and could change statute, the empire increasing, before becoming is a senatorial province, evening an imperial province. The working life was in general 5 years but could sometimes last longer. The system of the procurateurs-governors was set up gradually at the beginning of the empire to fix itself under Claude.

Tasks of the governor

The governor has above all the military, political and legal tasks. The financial and tax businesses escape to him completely according to an old Roman administrative principle. In the provinces of the Roman people, it is a Questeur which is occupied of finances and in the imperial provinces, a financial Procurateur. The governor must defend his province, but does not have to launch out in theory in military adventures intended to carry out a conquest; It must repress the revolts and limit the armed robbery. While respecting the autonomy of the cities, the governor must make sure of the their economic and financial good health and maintenance of law and order within their framework. A certain number of documents enable us to better know the daily action of the Roman governors. The letters of Pline the Young person addressed to Trajan show us Pline dealing with the work decided by the cities of its province and controlling their cost, of the recruitment of the soldiers and military manpower, of the guard of the prisons, the recruitment of the public slaves, of legal affairs, of which the judgment of the Christians… The '' Digeste '' confirms these various missions: the proconsul must inspect the public edifices, to make them complete or repair, if required provide the service of soldiers. The proconsul carried out also a round in his province, holding of legal bases in the principal cities. It is within the latter framework that the accounts of Christian martyrs show us the governor questioning and condemning the Christians, following the example Pionios in Asia Mineure in 250.

The Roman Empire does not have a true public office with the image of the modern administrations. The governor however has under his orders a certain number of people intended to allow him to achieve his task. He can first of all be made accompany by freed close relations, friends, customers or, members of his cohors amicorum . Some of them can be specialists in a particular field: thus, we know that Fronton wanted to take along a knight to fight against the armed robbery at the time of sound proconsulat - station which it declined finally because of his bad health. But especially, there exists in the provincial capital an embryo of administration which allows the continuity of the administrative tasks across the rather fast rotation of the governors, slaves imperial and freed are important wheels. The role of the soldiers is not to neglect either. The governor is permanently accompanied by a military escort ( singulares ), but it also has with his orders of the soldiers intended for his officium , i.e. at his offices. These soldiers are principal , warrant officers more or less well-read men and exempted drudgeries. Most known are the recipients. The latter can be named in a statio , a checkpoint in general located on an important road or close to a city. Such station are well-known in the provinces borders, as in Sirmium in Pannonia. Lastly, of the provincial files exist, gathered in the offices of the palate of the governor in the middle of the provincial capital. They are badly known for us but could be rather precise. The table of Banasa, inscription found in Morocco, reproduced letters of governors and lets guess the existence of filed reports/ratios. Since its capital and using this provincial administration, it is allocated to the governor to centralize information bound for Rome and to diffuse the orders, decisions and laws taken by the emperor.

At the end of his mandate, the proconsul could be marked by its managed and judged in front of the senate: several letters of Pline the Young person report the lawsuits which opposed the Bithyniens to their former governor Varenus, the African with their former proconsul Priscus and three lawsuits concerning the province of Bétique. The success in such lawsuits however partly depended on goodwill of the emperor and the power of patronages that the provincial ones could mobilize in these businesses whose exit was very risky.

Low Empire

Dioclétien begins, into 293, the reform of the administration of the provinces, Constantin Ier supplements it in 318.

Dioclétien creates 12 Diocèse S, of which good number were divided later. Originally two to four were allotted to each tétrarque. Each diocese, under the authority of a Vicar ( vicarius ), includes/understands several old provinces known as éparchies, of bearing row various and of the varied titles including certain old titles as proconsul and of new like Corrector provinciae , Moderator Provinciae , Praeses provinciae . The vicar, in his diocèce, was the supreme authority and this one could be disputed only by the Préfet of the court or the emperor himself. Later, the post of vicar passes under the control of the prefect of the court but remains highly prestigious.

Under Constantin, the governors lose inter alia, their military role, for others. The governor was assisted of a dux which directs the legions of the province. When this last arrives at the level diocesan, another dux is named. Soon, the ducatus ( military Territory of the dux ) becomes more or less independent and directs several provinces, until a new military level is created under the name of Comes rei militaris and Magister militum. The four prefects of the court, then civil functions, are the highest officers of the diocese, the Magister militum being the most important military officer.

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