Imperial Province
An imperial province is a Roman province in which the emperor was nominally the governor. As his deputy in the province and de facto governor, he appointed a Legatus Augusti pro praetore (for example: "Representative of the emperor with the rank of praetor "), whom he selected from among the senators of higher rank (former praetors or consuls ). The term of office was usually several years (usually two to four).
The imperial provinces were often the strategically important border provinces. One or more legions were stationed in them, the commander of which was the Legatus Augusti (several legions had their own Legati legionis).
Shortly after the consolidation of Augustus' rule , the Roman provinces were divided into imperial and "public" provinces (provinciae publicae) ; the latter are inexactly referred to in research as "senatorial" provinces, because in them the senate determined the governor by lot.
In the year 14 the following provinces were imperial:
- Aegyptus
- Alpes Cottiae
- Alpes Graiae
- Alpes Maritimae
- Alpes Poeninae
- Britannia
- Dalmatia
- Galatia
- Gallia Aquitania
- Gallia Belgica
- Gallia Lugdunensis
- Germania inferior (as a military district, later as a province)
- Germania superior (as a military district, later as a province)
- Hispania tarraconensis
- Iudaea
- Lusitania
- Lycia et Pamphylia (until 165, then public province)
- Noricum
- Pannonia
- Raetia
- Syria
- Thracia
In the period that followed, the following were established as imperial provinces:
- Achaea , Macedonia and Moesia (were together imperial province from 15 to 44, after that only Moesia alone)
- Cappadocia (18)
- Mauretania Caesariensis (40)
- Mauretania Tingitana (40)
- Epirus (67)
- Cilicia (102)
- Arabia Petraea (106)
- Dacia (106)
- Numidia (198/9)
literature
- Werner Eck : Province. Your definition from a political-administrative point of view . In: ders: The administration of the Roman Empire in the High Imperial Era . Vol. 2. Reinhardt, Basel 1998, ISBN 3-7245-0962-6 , pp. 167-185.
- Werner Eck: (Ed.) Local autonomy and Roman regulatory power in the imperial provinces from the 1st to the 3rd century (= writings of the Historical College . Colloquia 42). Munich 1999, ISBN 978-3-486-56385-6 ( digitized version ).