Editing Proconsul (section)

==Roman Empire==
Under the Republic, consuls and proconsuls had raised and commanded armies loyal to themselves. [[Augustus]], Rome's first emperor, replaced these essentially private armies with a standing imperial army. The consuls and proconsuls lost their military authority, but the titles retained considerable prestige.{{sfn|Lord|2012a|pp=24, 45}}

The provinces were divided between [[imperial provinces]], which were under the jurisdiction of the emperor, and [[senatorial provinces]], which were under the jurisdiction of the senate. The imperial provinces were mostly the border provinces, where most of the legions were stationed. This allowed the emperor to retain control of the army. In the senatorial provinces, the governors were called proconsuls. Tenure was generally restricted to one year.{{sfn|Lord|2012a|p=46}}

According to [[Suetonius]]:
{{cquote|The more important provinces, which could not with ease or safety be entrusted to the government of annual magistrates, [Augustus] reserved for his own administration: the rest he distributed by lot amongst the proconsuls; but sometimes he made exchanges, and frequently visited most of both kinds in person.<ref name=Suetonius>C. Suetonius Tranquillus, ''Divus Augustus'', 47.</ref>}}

Augustus decreed that the governors of the senatorial provinces would receive the title proconsul, regardless of whether they had served as praetor or consul. These were chosen by lot, with the result ratified by the Senate. In the imperial provinces, the emperors appointed governors who held the title of ''[[legatus Augusti pro praetore]]'', or pro-praetor, regardless of what position they had held previously.{{sfn|Lord|2012a|p=46}}<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', 53.13.</ref>

A passage in the [[New Testament]] notes that cases might be judged by a proconsul: "If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another."<ref>{{bible|Acts|19:38|NRSV}}, NRSV.</ref>

''[[Notitia Dignitatum]]'', an early fifth-century imperial chancery document, mentions three proconsuls but no propraetors. These outranked vicars in precedence, though administratively they were subordinates like all governors. They governed the provinces of: Asia, comprising the central part of the western [[Anatolia]]n coast; [[Achaea (Roman province)|Achaea]], comprising the [[Peloponnese]] and most of [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]]; and [[Africa Province|Africa]], the northern part of modern [[Tunisia]].<ref>Fairly, William, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=EjETH6V8lJYC Notitia Dignitatum, Or, Register of Dignitaries]'', Department of history of the University of Pennsylvania, 1899: Achaea, p. 4; Africa, p. 36; Asia, p. 16.</ref>