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==Roman Republic== {{Politics of the Roman Republic}} A proconsul was endowed with full consular authority outside the city of Rome.<ref name="pauly" /> [[Cicero]] notes that this did not include the right to consult [[auguries]]: "Our ancestors would not undertake any military enterprise without consulting the auspices; but now, for many years, our wars have been conducted by pro-consuls and propraetors, who do not have the right to take auspices."<ref>Cic. Div. 2,76.</ref> The position was created to deal with a constitutional peculiarity of the Roman Republic. Only a consul could command an army, but the high turnover of consuls could disrupt continuity of command. If a consul's term ended in the midst of a campaign, he could be [[Prorogatio|prorogued]] and continue to command.{{sfn|Lord|2012a|pp=23-24}} [[Quintus Publilius Philo]] was one of two consuls for the year 327 BC. When his term expired at the end of the year, his army was in the midst of besieging the city of Neapolis (modern [[Naples]]). Rather than risk a change of command at such a delicate moment, the people voted that he should "conduct the campaign in place of a consul (''prΕ consule'')" after his term expired. Publilius thus became the first proconsul.{{sfn|Lord|2012a|p=23}} With territorial expansion beyond Italy and the annexation of territories as Roman provinces, the proconsul became one of two types of Roman provincial governors. The other was the [[propraetor]].<ref name=Livy>Livy, ''The History of Rome'', 8.22β23, 9.42, 410.16.1β2</ref><ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman antiquities,'' 17/18.4.5.</ref> In theory, proconsuls held delegated authority and acted on behalf of the consuls. In practice, a proconsulship was often treated as an extension of a consul's term. This extension applied only outside the city walls of Rome. It was an extension of the military command of the consul, but not of his public office.<ref name="Livy" /> As the number of [[Roman legion]]s was increased, there was a need to increase the number of military commanders. The office of the [[praetor]] was introduced in 366 BC. The praetors were the chief justices of the city. They were also given ''imperium'' so that they could also command an army.<ref name="Livy" /> During the [[Second Samnite War]], Rome increased the number of her legions. The position of propraetor was instituted. These were praetors whose ''imperium'' was extended and were given the task to command a reserve army. Propraetors had the power to command one army, whereas proconsuls had the power to command two armies.<ref name="Livy" />{{Dubious|date=November 2021}} In 307 BC, [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus]], who was consul the previous year, was elected as proconsul to conduct the campaign in [[Samnium]]. During the [[Third Samnite War]] (298β290 BC) the consuls of the previous year, Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus and [[Publius Decius Mus (consul 312 BC)|Publius Decius Mus]], were given a six-month extension of their authority to carry on the war in Samnium. In 291 BC [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges (consul 292 BC)|Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges]] had his command extended and to carry out mop up operations towards the end of the war. He defeated the [[Pentri]], the largest [[Samnites|Samnite]] tribe.<ref name="Livy" /> There were two republican proconsuls who did not previously hold the position of consul. During the [[Second Punic War]] (218β201 BC) [[Scipio Africanus]] volunteered to lead the second Roman expedition against the [[Carthaginians]] in Spain. He was too young to have been a consul. He was made proconsul by a vote of the Popular Assembly. When Scipio left Spain after his victory in 205 BC, [[Lucius Cornelius Lentulus (consul 199 BC)|Lucius Cornelius Lentulus]] and [[Lucius Manlius Acidinus]] were sent as commanders without public office (''sine magistratus''). This was done because Manlius Acidinus had not been a consul before.<ref>{{cite book|last=Richardson |first=J. S. |title=Hispaniae: Spain and the development of Roman Imperialism, 218β82 BC |pages=64β71 |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> As Rome acquired territory, the need for provincial governors grew. The province of [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]] was created in 241 BC, while Corsica and Sardinia was created in 238 BC. In 227 BC, two praetors were assigned the administration of these two provinces. Two more praetors were added when the provinces of [[Hispania Citerior]] and [[Hispania Ulterior]] were created in 197 BC. After this, no praetors were added even when the number of provinces increased. It became customary to extend the authority of consuls and the praetors at the end of their annual terms. The provinces were assigned by lot to proconsuls and propraetors. The proconsuls were assigned the provinces which contained the larger number of troops.<ref name=Livy418>Livy, ''The History of Rome'', 41.8.</ref> Under [[Lex Sempronia Agraria|Lex Sempronia]], enacted in 123 BC, the senate determined the allocation of the provinces before the next consular elections.<ref>Cicero, ''de provinciis consularibus oratio'', 2, 7.</ref><ref>Cicero, ''pro Balbo'' 27, 61</ref> In 81 BC, [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]] added two praetors so that the two proconsuls and six propraetors could be assigned to govern the ten provinces Rome ruled at that time.<ref name="Livy418" /> Sulla made the governorships annual and required the holder to leave the province within thirty days after the arrival of his successor.<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Friends'', 3.6.</ref> In 67 BC, [[Pompey]] [[Lex Gabinia|received]] extraordinary powers and an unprecedented multiyear proconsulship to deal with the problem of piracy. The "[[first triumvirate]]" of [[Julius Caesar]], Pompey and [[Crassus]] also received multiyear proconsulships in 59 BC.{{sfn|Lord|2012a|p=44}} [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]] was also granted this power in 38 BC.<ref name="Weigel, ">Weigel, ''Lepidus: The Tarnished Triumvir''</ref>
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