A Concilium provinciae (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for 'Provincial council', known in Greek as a ''
koinon
''Koinon'' ( el, Κοινόν, pl. Κοινά, ''Koina''), meaning "common", in the sense of "public", had many interpretations, some societal, some governmental. The word was the neuter form of the adjective, roughly equivalent in the government ...
'') was an assembly of delegates from all the settlements and cities in a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
, which met once a year in the capital of the relevant region in order to celebrate a festival in honour of the goddess
Roma, a divine personification of the Roman state. These festivities were led by a
flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
, a priest, who was chosen annually by the assembly.
In addition to this ceremonial and religious aspect, the Concilium provinciae also provided a venue for the local aristocracy and political elite to deliberate on internal concerns and problems of the province or to choose delegations to communicate local concerns to Rome.
See also
*
Ara trium Galliarum
The ''Ara trium Galliarum'', or ‘Altar of the three Gallic provinces’, was a Roman sanctuary near Lugdunum (today Lyon in France). The altar was consecrated to the goddess Roma and Augustus.
In the 2nd decade of the 1st century BC, Drusus bu ...
- Provincial council of the
Gallic provinces.
*
Ara Ubiorum The ''Ara Ubiorum'' (Altar of the Ubii) was a Roman sanctuary in the Oppidum Ubiorum (modern day Cologne). It was erected in the last decade of the 1st century BC and was dedicated to the goddess Roma and the Roman emperor. It was a central locati ...
- Provincial council of the
Germanic provinces
Bibliography
* Jürgen Deininger: ''Die Provinziallandtage der römischen Kaiserzeit von Augustus bis zum Ende des dritten Jahrhunderts n. Chr.'' Beck, München 1965.
Provinces of the Roman Empire
Ancient Roman religion