Imperial provinces during the Principate

created the Roman Empire, the legislation of the regions was directed. Octavian Caesar, having rose up out of the Roman common wars as the undisputed victor and expert of the Roman state, formally set out his forces, and in principle restored the power of the Roman Senate. Octavian himself expected the title "Augustus" and was given to administer, notwithstanding Egypt, the deliberately critical territories of Gaul, Hispania and Syria (counting Cilicia and Cyprus). Under Augustus, Roman regions were delegated either open or majestic, implying that their governors were selected by either the Senate or by the sovereign. By and large, the more established territories that existed under the Republic were open. Open territories were, as before under the Republic, represented by a proconsul, who was picked by part among the positions of congresspersons who were ex-emissaries or ex-praetors, contingent upon which area was relegated. The real supreme regions were under a legatus Augusti master praetore, additionally a congressperson of consular or praetorian rank. Egypt and some littler regions where no armies were based were controlled by a procurator (praefectus in Egypt), whom the head chose from non-representatives of equestrian rank. The status of a region could change every once in a while. In AD 68, of an aggregate 36 areas, 11 were open and 25 majestic. Of the recent, 15 were under legati and 10 under procuratores or praefecti.

Amid the Principate, the number and size of areas additionally changed, either through victory or through the division of existing territories. The bigger or all the more intensely garrisoned territories (for instance Syria and Moesia) were subdivided into littler regions to keep any single representative from holding a lot of force.

Arrangement of areas made amid the Principate[edit]

27 BC – Achaea divided from Macedonia, open propraetorial region

25 BC – Galatia, supreme propraetorial region

22 BC – revamping of Gaul after the triumphs of Julius Caesar into Gallia Aquitania, Gallia Belgica, Gallia Lugdunensis, supreme propraetorial regions

15 BC – Raetia, supreme procuratorial region

c. 13 BC – Hispania Ulterior separated into Baetica and Lusitania (open propraetorial and magnificent propraetorial individually)

12 BC – Germania Magna, lost after 9 AD

6 AD – Judaea, supreme procuratorial region (renamed Syria Palaestina by Hadrian, and moved up to proconsular territory).

14 BC – Alpes Maritimae, supreme procuratorial region

18 – Cappadocia, magnificent propraetorial (later proconsular) territory

c. 20–50 – Illyricum isolated into Illyricum Superior (Dalmatia) and Illyricum Inferior (Pannonia), supreme proconsular regions

40 – Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis, magnificent procuratorial territories

c. 40 – Noricum, magnificent procuratorial territory

43 – Britannia, magnificent proconsular territory

43 – Lycia et Pamphylia, magnificent propraetorial territory

46 – Thracia, magnificent procuratorial territory

c. 47 – Alpes Poeninae, magnificent procuratorial territory

63 – Alpes Cottiae, magnificent procuratorial territory

67 – Epirus, magnificent procuratorial territory

72 – Commagene affixed to Syria

c. 84 – Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, magnificent proconsular territories

85 – Moesia isolated into Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior, supreme proconsular regions

105 – Arabia, magnificent propraetorial territory

107 – Dacia, royal proconsular area (part into Dacia Superior and Dacia Inferior somewhere around 118 and 158)

107 – Pannonia isolated into Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior, magnificent areas (proconsular and propraetorial individually)

c. 115 – Armenia, Assyria and Mesopotamia, structured by Trajan, surrendered by Hadrian in 118

166 – Tres Daciae structured: Porolissensis, Apulensis and Malvensis, magnificent procuratorial areas

193 – Syria isolated into Syria Coele and Syria Phoenicia, magnificent areas (proconsular and propraetorial individually)

193 – Numidia differentiated from Africa proconsularis, magnificent propraetorial area

c. 197 – Mesopotamia, royal praefectorial area

197 (formalized c. 212) – Britannia isolated into Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior, magnificent areas (proconsular and propraetorial individually)

214 AD – Osroene

A hefty portion of the above areas were under Roman military control or under the principle of Roman customers for quite a while before being formally constituted as common territories. Just the date of the authorit