Proconsul

Proconsul (Latin proconsul, of per consule "instead of a consul " ) designated in the Roman Empire mostly a governor.

Originally it was proconsul in the Roman Republic, the name given to a consul, whose empire extended beyond the regular period of one year beyond ( prolonged or prorogued ) was. Proconsuls were used mainly in wars, when the number of regular empire carrier ( consuls and praetors ) was not sufficient for the army leadership or a successful commander should retain his command. In general, they were entrusted with the management of a province.

As the number of provinces continued to grow, proconsuls were there working alongside regular magistrates and propraetors. The dictator Sulla then systematized by 80 BC, the provincial administration: Since then should take only proconsuls and propraetors following their regular magistracy (usually one year ) governorship of a province. But in the civil wars of the following decades there were numerous exceptions, such as extensions of the term of office; so was Gaius Julius Caesar the same for five years proconsul of three provinces ( later extended by five years ), while Pompey was managing his Spanish province by legates.

End of the 50s BC was determined that between magistracy and Promagistratur an interval of at least five years had to lie. Thus, the direct temporal continuity of the consulate and proconsul was eliminated.

In the reorganization of the provinces under Augustus they were divided into imperial and senatorial called. While the governor of an imperial province was a legatus Augusti pro praetore, led the particular always for one year governors of the provinces Senate the title proconsul, regardless of whether they had already been consul or praetor only. Nominally, the Senate was independent at the presentation of proconsulship; in practice was ( anyway as the imperial provinces ) no selected but again, who was the Emperor not acceptable.

In the Republican period, a governorship has been widely abused to economically exploit the province and supplement their own, weakened by election expenses fortunes. These grievances took part also in the imperial period to; However, given the proconsuls, to prevent them, now a high salary, and in addition, the province residents could now turn with the request for remedy to the Emperor. Thus, the situation seems to have improved.

In the further course of the imperial period is blurred the exact definition of " proconsul " more and more, so that in late antiquity informally almost every administrator of a province could be so designated. Officially, there was in the 5th and 6th century AD, however, only two proconsules, that of Asia and Achaia; under Justinian I went for a few years yet the proconsules of Armenia, Cappadocia and Palestine added (Nov. -Just. 30th 31, 103). In the 7th century, the name disappeared in common with most late Roman structures.

Known proconsuls and propraetors

• Marcus Claudius Marcellus (209 BC defeat against Hannibal at Venusia )
• Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella ( in 80 BC, Macedonia province, was considered the most prominent Sullan of Caesar at the beginning of his political career because of abuse of office sued )
• Sallust (46 BC, the province of Africa Nova, exploited his province particularly shameless )
• Gaius Verres, notorious for plundering the province of Sicily
• Gaius Julius Caesar, propraetor in Spain and proconsul in Gaul