In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin, provincia, pl. provinciae) was the largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's foreign possessions (those beyond the Italian peninsula). The first Roman province was Sicily, after the First Punic War (264 - 241 b.C.).
Provinces were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors. A later exception was the province of Egypt, incorporated by Augustus after the death of Cleopatra: it was ruled by a governor of equestrian rank only, perhaps as a discouragement to senatorial ambition.
Under the Roman Republic, the governor of a province was appointed for a period of one year. At the beginning of the year, the provinces were distributed to future governors by lots or direct appointment. Normally, the provinces where more trouble was expected, either from barbaric invasions or internal rebellions, were given to former consuls, men of the greatest prestige and experience. The distribution of the legions across the provinces was also dependent of the amount of danger that they represented. In 14 a.D., for instance, the province of Lusitania had no permanent legion but Germania Inferior, where the Rhine frontier was still not pacified, had a garrison of four legions.