Roman History > Roman Provincias

Roman Provincias

Background

The Roman provinces (Latin: provincia, pl. provinciae) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as governor. A province was the basic and, until the Tetrarchy (from 293 AD), the largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside Roman Italy. The word province in Modern English has its origins in the Latin term used by the Romans.

Provinces were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors. A later exception was the province of Egypt, which was incorporated by Augustus after the death of Cleopatra and was ruled by a governor of only equestrian rank, perhaps as a discouragement to senatorial ambition. That exception was unique but not contrary to Roman law, as Egypt was considered Augustus's personal property, following the tradition of the kings of the earlier Hellenistic period.

Roman Provincias

Roman Provincias List

Sources

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources