Everything about Proconsul totally explained
Ancient Rome
In the
Roman Republic, a
proconsul was a
promagistrate (like a
propraetor) who, after serving as
consul, spent a year as a
governor of a
province. Certain provinces were reserved for proconsuls; who received which one by senatorial appointment was determined by random choosing or negotiation between the two proconsuls.
Under the
Empire, the
Emperor derived a good part of his powers (alongside the military
imperium and the tribunician power and presidency of the senate in Rome) from a constitutionally 'exceptional' (but permanent) mandate as the holder of proconsular authority over all, hence, so-called
Imperial provinces, generally with one or more legions garrisoned (often each under a specific legate); however, he'd appoint legates and other promagistrates to govern each such province in his name. The former Consuls (constitutionally still eponymic chief magistrates of the
res publica, but politically powerless) would still receive a term as proconsul of one of the other, so-called
Senatorial provinces.
The
notitia dignitatum (a unique early 5th century imperial chancery document) still mentions three Proconsuls (Propraetors had completely disappeared), apparently above even the Vicars of the dioceses in protocol though administratively their subordinates as all governors; the diocesan vicars in turn were under the four
praetorian prefects, since Diocletian's
Tetrarchy :
- in the eastern empire Asia ([Minor], a western part of Anatolia) and Achaia (for example Greece)
- in the western empire only Africa (mainly modern Tunisia).
The many other, often new or split, provinces are under governors of various other -younger, usually less prestigious- styles:
Comes,
Praefectus Augustalis (unique to Egypt, the emperor's 'pharaonic crown domain'),
Consularis,
Praeses (provinciae),
Corrector provinciae; these are not to be confused with the also territorially organised (but overlapping) and strictly military governors:
Comes militaris,
Dux and later
Magister Militum.
Provinces that have been governed by a proconsul include: Achaea, Africa, Asia (see above for all three),
Cilicia, Cyprus,
Gallia Lugdunensis,
Hispania Tarraconensis, Syria and Palestina.
Modern analogy
In modern speech, a leader appointed by a foreign power during
military occupation or colonization is sometimes anachronistically described as a proconsul. An example of the first was Gotara Ogawa during Japan's military occupation of British Burma (1942 - 1945), of the second US general
Douglas MacArthur who was referred to as the Proconsul of Japan after World War II. More recently, the
Wall Street Journal described the US
Civilian Administrator of Iraq as a "modern proconsul".
The term has also been used as a disparagement towards individuals, especially ambassadors, who have attempted to influence the governments of foreign countries. In one instance, former
Canadian cabinet minister
Lloyd Axworthy called former
United States ambassador to Canada
Paul Cellucci "the U.S. ambassador-turned-proconsul" in an opinion piece in the
April 29,
2003 Globe and Mail newspaper. Axworthy's comments were in response to Cellucci's frequent warnings to the Canadian government on domestic policy matters (such as the decriminalization of
marijuana) which were often perceived by Canadians as threats, because they were.
Sources and References
Notitia dignitatum
Pauly-Wissowa (in German)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Proconsul'.
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