Ancient Rome, in the first century B., had established provinces throughout the Mediterranean. These provinces were taken under Roman control through the force of their army. The citizens of these provinces were not Roman citizens; they were considered to be Roman allies and were supposedly protected by Roman rule. They were required to pay off indemnities to reimburse Rome for expenses incurred in fighting the war. Most provinces were also required to pay an annual poll tax to reimburse Rome for the costs of maintaining a governor and a military force in their province. These governors were proconsuls or propraetors assigned to a province to promote Roman interests and to maintain peace and order. Unfortunately for the provincial citizens, many of these Roman governors were corrupt, ruthless, and selfish. Life for the citizens occupying these provinces was less than desirable at times, and they resented Rome and its rule.
Rome's intentions in assigning a governor to a province were very positive and helpful to the provincials. The governors were expected to enforce peace, and to protect the welfare of all law-abiding inhabitants of the province. The expectations of a governor were specifically laid out for him in the Roman code of law. A governor was expected to prevent people from illegally obtaining or losing money and property. He was to protect the weaker from the more powerful. A governor should prevent unauthorized staff-members from threatening people with military force. He should see to it that taxes and tributes were collected fairly. A governor was to make sure the military did not take more than they actually needed from the provincials. He was required to "hunt down sacrilegious persons, robbers, kidnappers and thieves, and punish each according to his crime- and "apprehend those who harbor criminals- (Doc. 317, Ulpian, The Digest of Law). This was the ideal standard for Roman provincial administration.