PRŎSTĂTĒS TOU DĒMOU (προστάτης τοῦ δήμου), a leader of the people,
denoted at Athens and in other democratical states, a person who
by his character and eloquence placed himself at the head of the
people, and whose opinion had the greatest sway amongst them: such
was Pericles. It appears, however, that προστάτης τοῦ δήμου was also
the title of a public officer in those Dorian states in which the
government was democratical.
PRŎTHESMĬA (προθεσμία), the term limited for bringing actions and
prosecutions at Athens. The Athenian expression προθεσμίας νόμος
corresponds to our _statute of limitations_. The time for commencing
actions to recover debts, or compensation for injuries, appears to
have been limited to five years at Athens.
PRŌVINCĬA. This word is merely a shortened form of _providentia_, 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 assigned 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 commissioners 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 assisted 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 necessary 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 _Conventus_, which
were territorial divisions. [CONVENTUS.] 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 portoria 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 conventus.--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 Possessio. 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 Citerior et Ulterior; Gallia Citerior; Gallia
Narbonensis et Comata; Illyricum; Macedonia; Achaia; Asia; Cilicia;
Syria; Bithynia et Pontus; Cyprus; Africa; Cyrenaica et Creta;
Numidia; Mauritania. Those of a subsequent date, which were either
new or arose from division, are: Rhaetia; Noricum; Pannonia; Moesia;
Dacia; Britannia; Mauritania Caesariensis and Tingitana; Aegyptus;
Cappadocia; Galatia; Rhodus; Lycia; Commagene; Judaea; Arabia;
Mesopotamia; Armenia; Assyria.--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 proconsules: such provinces were called consulares. 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
predecessor 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 passing 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 verbis_) 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 patroni. 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. Quaestiones 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
Augustus, a considerable change was made in the administration of
the provinces. Augustus 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 Caesaris_; and this
division, with some modifications, continued to the third century.
The senatorian provinces were distributed among consulares and those
who had filled the office of praetor, two provinces being given to
the consulares and the rest to the praetorii: these governors were
called _proconsules_, 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 urbanus and the praetor
peregrinus: and their quaestors had the same jurisdiction that the
curule aediles had at Rome. The imperial provinces were governed
by _legati Caesaris_, 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 _procuratores
Caesaris_, who were either equites or freedmen of the Caesar.
Egypt was governed by an eques with the title of praefectus. The
procuratores looked after the taxes, paid the troops, and generally
were intrusted with the interests of the fiscus. 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 procuratores
Caesaris in the senatorian provinces, who collected certain dues of
the fiscus, 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 Augustus. The portoria and other
dues were farmed by the publicani, as in the republican period.