History glossary
province
a territory outside Italy governed under Roman authority.
- Category
- Political administration
- Region
- Roman world
- Date range
- Roman Republic and Empire
What it means
In Roman usage, provincia first meant a magistrate's assigned sphere of command. As Rome expanded overseas, it came to mean a governed territory beyond Italy. Sicily, taken after the First Punic War, became Rome's first overseas province and opened a new phase in Roman rule.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
The Punic Wars: The Story of Rome, Carthage and Hannibal
From rivalry over Sicily to Hannibal's invasion, Zama, and the destruction of Carthage, the Punic Wars made Rome the dominant power of the Mediterranean and changed the Republic forever.
The American Revolution and Early Republic
From colonial tensions to independence, this traces the birth and early struggles of the United States of America.
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The Celtic World Before Rome
Celtic tribes spanned Europe, shaping culture, conflict, and a lasting legacy.
The Elizabethan Age
Elizabeth I’s reign brought stability, cultural flourishing, exploration, and victory over the Spanish Armada.
The English Civil War
Civil war between king and Parliament led to regicide, a republic, and lasting constitutional change.
