A-dictionary-of-greek-and-roman-antiquities-william-smith

PR0V1NCIA. I'ROVINCIA. SC5
annually sent from Rome. He was assisted by and maintain soldiers and sailors for the service of
two Quaestors and was accompanied by a train of Rome, and to pay tributum for the carrying on of
praecones, scribae, baruspices, and other persons, wars. The governor could take provisions for the
who formed his Conors. The Quaestors received use of himself and his cohors on condition of pay
from the Roman acrarium the necessary sums for ing for them. The Roman State had also the
the administration of the island, and they also col Portoria which were let to farm to Romans at
lected the taxes, except those which were let by Rome.
the Censors at Rome. One quaestor resided at The governor had complete Jurisdictio in the
Lilybaeurn, and the other with the governor or island with the Imperium and Potestas. He could
Praetor at Syracusae. The governor could dismiss delegate these powers to his quaestors, but there
the quaestors from the province, if they did not was always an appeal to him, and for this and
conform to his orders, and could appoint Legati to other purposes he made circuits through the dif
do their duties. The whole island was not treated
exactly in the same way. Seventeen conquered
towns forfeited their land, which was restored
on condition of the payment of the decimae and
the scriptura. But this restoration must not be
understood as meaning that the ownership of the
land was restored, for the Roman State became the
owner of the land, and the occupiers had at most
a Possessio. These taxes or dues were let to farm
by the censors at Rome. Three cities, Messana,
Tauromenium, and Netum, were made Focderatae
Civitates and retained their land. [Fokdkratak
Civitates.] Five other cities, among which were
Panormus and Segesta, were Liberae et Immuncs,
that is, they paid no decimae ; but it does not ap
pear whether they were free from the burdens to
which the Foederatae Civitates as such were sub
ject by virtue of their Foedus with Rome. Before
the Roman conquest of Sicily, the island had been
subject to a payment of the tenth of wine, oil, and
other products, the collecting of which had been
determined with great precision by a law or re
gulation of King Hicro (Lex Hiermica). The
regulations of Hiero were preserved and these
tenths were let to farm by the Quaestors in Sicily
to Sicilians and Rinnans settled in Sicily : the
tenths of the first-mentioned towns were let to
farm to Romans in Rome. The towns which paid
the tenths were called by the general name of
Stipendiariae.
For the administration of justice the island was
divided into Fora or Conventus, which were terri
torial divisions. Sicilians who belonged to the
same town had their disputes settled according to
its laws ; citizens of different towns had their dis
putes decided by judices appointed by the go
vernor ; in case of disputes between an individual
and a community, the Senate of any Sicilian town
might act as judices, if the parties did not choose
to have as judices the Senate of their own towns ;
if a Roman citizen sued a Sicilian, a Sicilian was
judex ; if a Sicilian sued a Roman citizen, a Ro
man was judex ; but no person belonging to the
Conors of a Praetor could be judex. These were
the provisions of the Rupiliae Leges. Disputes
between the lessees of the tenths and the Aratores
were decided according to the rules of Hiero, (Cic.
Verr. ii. 13.) The settlement of the Municipal
constitution of the towns was generally left to the
citizens ; but in some instances, as in the case of
C. Claudius Marccllus and the town of Alesa, a
constitution was given by some Roman at the re
quest, as it appears, of the town. The Senate and
the People still continued as the component parts
of the old Greek cities. Cicero mentions a body
of 1 30 men called censors who were appointed to
take the census of Sicily every five years, after
the fashion of the Roman census (in Verr. ii.
55, &c.) Tuo island was also bound to furnish
ferent Conventus.
Such was the organization of Sicilia as a pro
vince, which may be taken as a sample of the
general character of Roman provincial government.
Sicily obtained the Latinitas from C. Julius Caesar,
and the Civitas was given after his death (Cic. ad
AH. xiv. 12) ; but notwithstanding this there re
mained some important distinctions between Sicily
and Italy. The chief authority for this account of
the Provincial organization of Sicily is the Verrine
orations of Cicero.
Hispania was formed into two Provinces, Citerior
or Tarraconensis between the ] bonis and the
Pyrenees, and Ulterior or Baetica south of the
Iberus. Hispania Citerior was divided into seven
Conventus,— Carthaginiensis, Tarraconensis, Caesaraugnstanus,
Cluniensis, Asturum, Lucensis, and
Bracarum. The diversity of the condition of the
several parts of the Province appears from the
enumeration of Coloniac, Oppida Civium Roma*
norum, Latini veteres, Foederati, Oppida stipen
diaria. Hispania Baetica was divided into four
Juridici conventus, — Gaditanus, Cordubensis,
Astigitanus, Hispalmsis. The oppida consisted of
Coloniae, Municipia, Latio antiquitus donata, which
appear to be equivalent to Latini veteres, Libera,
Foederata, Stipendiaria. (Plin.//. AAiii. 1,3.) The
Provincia of Lusitania was divided into three Con
ventus,— Emeritensis, Pacensis, and Scalobitanus.
The classes of Oppida enumerated are Coloniae,
MunicipiaCivium Romanorum,OppidnLatiiantiqui
or veteris, Stipendiaria. (Plin. //. jV.iv. 22.) This
example will give some idea of the Roman mode
of administering a province for judicial purposes.
All Hispania received the Latinitas from Vespasian.
(Plin.//.Ar.ii. 3.) The province paid nfixedvectigal
or land-tax in addition to the tributum which
was collected by Praefecti, and in addition to being
required to deliver a certain quantity of corn. And
the Praetor had originally the right to purchase a
twentieth partat what price he pleased. (Liv. xliii,
2 ; compare Tacit. Agric. 19 ; and Cic in Verr.
iii. b*l, de aestimalo fntmento.)
This organization was not confired to theAVcstcrri
Provinces. In Asia, for instance, there was a
Smyrnaeus Conventus which was frequented by
a great part of Aeolia ; the term conventus was
applied both to the territorial division made for
the administration of justice and also to the chief
city or place " in quern conveniebant." Ephesus
gave name to another Conventus. As the Con
ventus were mainly formed for judicial purposes,
the term Jurisdictio is somctimas used as an equi
valent. Thus Pliny (//. N. v. 29) speaks of the
Sardiana Jurisdictio, which is the same as Sardianus
conventns. The object of thiB division is
further shown by such phrases as **eodem disceptant
foro,M " Tarraeone disceptant populi xliii."
Strabo remarks (xiii. p. 629) that the boundaries,
3 Q 3