Procurator (plural: Procuratores[1]) was a title of certain officials (not magistrates) in ancient Rome who were in charge of the financial affairs of a province, or imperial governor of a minor province.[2]
A fiscal procurator (procurator Augusti) was the chief financial officer of a province during the Principate (30 BC – AD 284). A fiscal procurator worked alongside the legatus Augusti pro praetore (imperial governor) of his province but was not subordinate to him, reporting directly to the emperor. The governor headed the civil and judicial administration of the province and was the commander-in-chief of all military units deployed there. The procurator, with his own staff and agents, was in charge of the province's financial affairs, including the following primary responsibilities:[3]
the collection of taxes, especially the land tax (tributum soli), poll tax (tributum capitis), and the portorium, an imperial duty on the carriage of goods on public highways
the distribution of pay to public servants (mostly in the military)
The office of fiscal procurator was always held by an equestrian, unlike the office of governor, which was reserved for members of the higher senatorial order.[5] The reason for the dual administrative structure was to prevent excessive concentration of power in the hands of the governor, as well as to limit his opportunities for peculation. It was not unknown for friction to arise between governors and procurators over matters of jurisdiction and finance.[citation needed]
Provincial governors
A procurator Augusti (often called the Praesidial Procurator, i.e., a garrison- or troop-commanding procurator), however, might also be the governor of the smaller imperial provinces (i.e., those provinces whose governor was appointed by the emperor, rather than the Roman Senate). The same title was held by the fiscal procurators, who assisted governors of the senatorial provinces, who were always senators.
In addition, procurator was the title given to various other officials in Rome and Italy.[6]
After the mid-first century, as a result of the Pax Romana, the provinces previously governed by prefects, who were military men, were gradually moved into the hands of procurators, who were essentially civilian fiscal officials. Egypt, as the special private domain of the emperor, which was administered by a Praefectus Augustalis, remained the exception.[7] This transfer created some confusion among scholars dealing with Pontius Pilate, governor of Judaea, who was often thought to have been a procurator, until the excavation of the inscribed so-called Pilate Stone, which proved his title was prefect.[8]
^Encyclopedia of the Roman empire, page 256, Matthew Bunson, Infobase Publishing, 2002. ISBN978-0-8160-4562-4
^"Provincial governors (Roman)". Livius.org. Jona Lendering. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
^Jerry Vardaman, A New Inscription Which Mentions Pilate as 'Prefect' , Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 81, 1962. pp. 70–71.
Bibliography
Mattingly, David (2006) An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire
May 18, 2023
procurator, ancient, rome, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, procurator, ancient, rome, news, newspape. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Procurator ancient Rome news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Procurator plural Procuratores 1 was a title of certain officials not magistrates in ancient Rome who were in charge of the financial affairs of a province or imperial governor of a minor province 2 Contents 1 Fiscal officers 2 Provincial governors 3 See also 4 References 5 BibliographyFiscal officers EditA fiscal procurator procurator Augusti was the chief financial officer of a province during the Principate 30 BC AD 284 A fiscal procurator worked alongside the legatus Augusti pro praetore imperial governor of his province but was not subordinate to him reporting directly to the emperor The governor headed the civil and judicial administration of the province and was the commander in chief of all military units deployed there The procurator with his own staff and agents was in charge of the province s financial affairs including the following primary responsibilities 3 the collection of taxes especially the land tax tributum soli poll tax tributum capitis and the portorium an imperial duty on the carriage of goods on public highways collection of rents on land belonging to imperial estates management of mines 4 the distribution of pay to public servants mostly in the military The office of fiscal procurator was always held by an equestrian unlike the office of governor which was reserved for members of the higher senatorial order 5 The reason for the dual administrative structure was to prevent excessive concentration of power in the hands of the governor as well as to limit his opportunities for peculation It was not unknown for friction to arise between governors and procurators over matters of jurisdiction and finance citation needed Provincial governors EditA procurator Augusti often called the Praesidial Procurator i e a garrison or troop commanding procurator however might also be the governor of the smaller imperial provinces i e those provinces whose governor was appointed by the emperor rather than the Roman Senate The same title was held by the fiscal procurators who assisted governors of the senatorial provinces who were always senators In addition procurator was the title given to various other officials in Rome and Italy 6 After the mid first century as a result of the Pax Romana the provinces previously governed by prefects who were military men were gradually moved into the hands of procurators who were essentially civilian fiscal officials Egypt as the special private domain of the emperor which was administered by a Praefectus Augustalis remained the exception 7 This transfer created some confusion among scholars dealing with Pontius Pilate governor of Judaea who was often thought to have been a procurator until the excavation of the inscribed so called Pilate Stone which proved his title was prefect 8 See also EditRoman governor Roman province Procurator at Rome Catholic canon law Procurator fiscal Scotland References Edit Procurator Encyclopedia Britannica Procurator Merriam Webster Mattingly 2006 256 Mattingly 2006 507 Mattingly 2006 256 Encyclopedia of the Roman empire page 256 Matthew Bunson Infobase Publishing 2002 ISBN 978 0 8160 4562 4 Provincial governors Roman Livius org Jona Lendering Retrieved 2014 12 18 Jerry Vardaman A New Inscription Which Mentions Pilate as Prefect Journal of Biblical Literature Vol 81 1962 pp 70 71 Bibliography EditMattingly David 2006 An Imperial Possession Britain in the Roman Empire Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Procurator ancient Rome amp oldid 1117542265, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
