The were sets of laws first enacted in 146 BC designed to aid in the regulation and administration of the

Roman province 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 rule ...

s. Written specifically for each province, the was drafted by the victorious general with the help of a commission of ten ', or advisors, who were usually of senatorial rank. Then the charter was enacted, provided it was approved by the Senate.

History

Provincial administration before 146 BC was achieved in essentially the same manner as it was after the advent of the . In 167 BC, for example, Lucius Aemilius Paulus imposed an extensive settlement on Macedonia. Paulus and his commission divided Macedonia into four independent republics; and they wrote laws for each region, including the amount of tribute to be paid to Rome. Settlements prior to 146 BC, including Paulus' settlement of Macedonia, were informal. The , or originated in 146 BC after

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

' settlement of Africa. Like previous provincial organization, Africa was settled without a formal charter³. Later that year, however, the senate seems to have passed the leges provinciae, which created formal constitutions for the provinces and set a precedent for future conquests⁵. Examples include

Publius Rupilius Publius Rupilius, Roman statesman, consul in 132 BC. During the inquiry that followed the death of Tiberius Gracchus, conducted by himself and his colleague Popillius Laenas, he proceeded with the utmost severity against the supporters of Gracchus ...

' ' for

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 132 BC and

Pompeius Magnus Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

' ' for Bithynia¹. and were used interchangeably over the course of Roman history. Although drafting formal constitutions for provinces became more common after the advent of the , having a was not a necessary condition for the Romans exercising direct rule. Several territories settled after 146. BC had provincial status without a . For example, parts of Germania seem to have been subject to paying tribute without a formal charter³.

Provisions

The had four main objectives: I) it divided the province into regions, II) it made arrangements for taxes and marked out tax districts, III) it divided the province into ' for judicial purposes, and IV) it defined the relationships between the senate, magistrates, and popular assemblies¹. The main objective of the was to formalize the conquered territory's status as a province and to exact

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

from it. The were not detailed constitutions designed to resolve everyday affairs. Rather, they were basic charters or formulas which organized the territory and specified certain basic regulations. The day-to-day administration of the province was done by a combination of magistrates and senatorial commissions. The governor of the province had autonomous power and was free to enact edicts so long as they complied with the ⁴. The determined the extent of the governor's power in the sense that it limited the kinds of cases that the governor could hear².

References

1. Hardy, E.G. ''C. Plinii Caecilii Secundi Epistulae.'' London, England. MacMillan and Company. 1889. (primary source) 2. “Jurisdiction.” The Administration of the Empire. ''The Last Age of the Roman Republic.'' Ed. Cook,

Andrew Lintott Andrew William Lintott (born 9 December 1936) is a British classical scholar who specialises in the political and administrative history of ancient Rome, Roman law and epigraphy. He is an emeritus fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxfor ...

, and

Rawson Rawson may refer to: Places *Rawson, Chubut, the capital of Chubut Province, Argentina *Rawson Department, Chubut, Argentina *Rawson Department, San Juan, Argentina **Villa Krause, also named Rawson, the capital city of the department * Rawson, Vic ...

. Cambridge Ancient History. Volume IX. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, Great Britain. 1994. 3. Lintott, Andrew. “What Was the ‘Imperium Romanum’?” ''Greece & Rome,'' 2nd Ser., Vol. 28, No. 1, Jubilee Year. (Apr., 1981), pp. 53-67. 4. "Province." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 May 2007 . 5. "Roman Timeline 2nd Century B.C." 2007. UNRV History. May 17, 2007. Subdivisions of ancient Rome Roman law {{Italic title

History

Provisions

See also

References