The government of the senatorial provinces lay be- tween the consuls, for whom, after they had completed their consular office, two provinces were appointed ; the other provinces were allotted to the prtetors. Sueto- nius adds {Ocfav. 47) that Augustus sometimes made changes in this arrangement. (Juiestors, chosen by lot out of those who were named for the year, went with the proconsuls into the provinces of the senate. Into the provinces of the emperor, legati, or lieutenants, were sent, with proprtetorial power, to act as representa- tives of their master: they wore the sword as an index of military authority, and had power of life and death over the sohliers — two distinctions which were not granted to the proconsuls, or governors of the senato- rial provinces. The imperial lieutenants remained many
years in the provinces; until, indeed, it pleased the em- peror to recall them. Qu;estors were not sent into the imperial provinces, but their place was supplied by " procuratores," called at a later period "rationales," who were generally taken from the equestrian order. They raised the revenue for the imperial treasury, and discharged the office of paymaster of the army. There was also in the senatorial provinces a procurator, who raised the income intended, not for the treasury, but for the emperor's privy purse: the smaller provinces, like JudiBa, which belonged to Syria, were altogether gov- erned by such. See Procuratoij.
The proconsids, proprajtors, and proprsetorial lieuten- ants, when about to proceed into their several provinces, received instructions for their guidance from tlie em- peror; and in cases in which these were found insuffi- cient, they were to apply for special directions to the imperial head of the State. A specimen of such appli- cation may be found in Pliny's letter to Trajan, with the emperor's rescript, regarding the conduct which was to be observed towards the already numerous and rap- idlj' growing sect of Christians. The administration of justice, so far as it did not belong to the province it- self, was in the governor or lieutenants assembled in a conventus; an appeal lay from this court to the pro- consul, and from him to Caesar. Criminal justice was wholly in the hands of the local governor, and extended not only over the provincials, but the Roman citizens as well : in important cases the governors applied for a de- cision to the emperor. The procurator sometimes had the power of life and death, as in the case of Pontius Pilate (Tacitus, Ann. xv, 44). See Province.
Roman Orator and Youth.
The procurator of Judasa resided principally at Ciiesa- rea, and the military forces were generally stationed there (Josephus, Ant. xviii, 3, 1). During the Passover the troops were stationed at Jerusalem, in order to pre- vent any insurrection from the multitude of visitors at that festival (Acts xxi, 31; xxii, 24; xxiii, 23; Jose- phus, Ant. XX, 5, 3). The troops consisted of infantry and cavalry (Acts xxiii, 23), and were commanded by tribunes (j^iXiajO^ot, ver. 17) and centurions {KiVTvpitxi- i'£C. IMark xv, 39, 44, 45; iKarovTopxoi, Matt, viii, 5; xxvii, 54; Acts x, 1,22). The former were at the head of the cohorts (oTreipai), and the latter at the head of the centuria.of which two made a maniple. See Army. It was the duty of the soldiers to execute the sentence of death and to keep guard over the prisoners (Matt. xxvii, 27 sq. ; John xix, 23 sq. ; comp. Acts xxii, 25), and the garments of those who were executed became their perquisite (John xix, 23). They also guarded the prisoners (Acts xxiii, 23; xxvii, 31). In Acts x, 1 men- tion is made of the Italian band at Csesarea. This was probably a cohort serving in Syria composed of natives of Italy, and called 'IraXtKi'i to distinguish it from those
ROMAN EMPIRE
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ROMAN EMPIRE
which consisted of troops raised in Syria (Josephus, Ant. xiv, 15, 10; War, i, 17, 1), as we know from (iriiter (Inscr. ccccxxxiv, 1) that Italian cohorts were serving in Syria. The "ETrtipt] "S.^jiaar!] (Acts xxvii, 1) could not well be a cohors Avgusta, for no legions were in Syria or Judtea bearing that title, nor could it be the band levied from Samaria (VAj; 'nrniMV Ka\ovi.dvi] Ss- l3a(TTT]v{oi', Josephus, A7it. xix, 9, 2; xx, 6, 1 ; Wa?; ii, 1'2, 5). Wieseler suggests that it was the Aiujustani mentioned by Tacitus {Ann. xiv, 15) and Suetonius {Nero, 20, 25). The first levying of this band by Au- gustus is recorded by Dion Cassius (xiv, 12).
The provinces were heavily taxed for the benefit of Rome and her citizens. In old times the Roman reve- nues were raised mainly from three sources: 1, the do- main lands; 2, a direct tax (tribtitum) levied upon ev- ery citizen; 3, from customs, tolls, harbor duties, etc. The agrarian law of Julius Caesar is said to have extin- guished the first source of revenue (Cicero, Ad Att. ii, xvi; Bureau de la Malle, ii, 430). Roman citizens had ceased to pay direct taxes since the conquest of Mace- donia, B.C. 1G7 (Cicero, De Off. ii, 22; Plutarch, ^mil. Paid. 38), except in extraordinary emergencies. The main part of the Roman revenue was now drawn from the provinces by a direct tax (k»/j'(toc, (popoi;. Matt, xxii, 17; Luke xx, 22), amounting probably to from five to seven per cent, on the estimated produce of the soil (Dureau de la Malle, ii, 418). The indirect taxes, too (tsXij, vectigulia. Matt, xvii, 25 ; Dureau de la Malle, ii, 449), appear to have been very heavy (ibid, ii, 448, 452). Augustus, on coming to the empire, fonnd the regular sources of revenue impaired, while his expenses must have been very great. To say nothing of the pay of the army, he is said to have supported no less than 200,000 citizens in idleness by the miserable system of public gratuities. Hence the necessity of a careful val- uation of the property of the whole empire, which ap- pears to have been made more than once in his reign. See Census. Augustus appears to have raised both the direct and indirect taxes (ibid, ii, 433, 448).