Definition: Following a year as consul, Roman magistrates were appointed by the Senate or negotiated between themselves for which province they would govern. As governors of these provinces they were known as proconsuls. The prefix "pro" shows that they were acting as consuls. Proconsulships began during the Republic when there was need for extra leaders because of the drain on commanders caused by lasting wars.
During the Imperial Period, the Emperor served as governor of the Imperial provinces, and proconsuls, as governors of the senatorial provinces. Under Augustus, the senatorial provinces were:
- Achaea
- Africa
- Asia
- Creta et Cyrene
- Cyprus
- Gallia Narbonensis
- Hispania Baetica
- Macedonia
- Pontus et Bithynia
- Sicilia
- Aegyptus
- Alpes Cottiae
- Alpes Maritimae
- Alpes Poeninae
- Cilicia
- Dalmatia
- Galatia
- Gallia Aquitania
- Gallia Belgica
- Gallia Lugdunensis
- Germania Inferior
- Germania Superior
- Hispania Terraconensis
- Lusitania
- Moesia
- Noricum
- Pannonia
- Raetia
- Sardinia et Corsica
- Syria
- Thracia
