A fiscal procurator worked alongside the legatus Augusti pro praetore (imperial governor) of his province but was not subordinate to him, reporting directly to the emperor.
The governor headed the civil and judicial administration of the province and was the commander-in-chief of all military units deployed there.
[5] The reason for the dual administrative structure was to prevent excessive concentration of power in the hands of the governor, as well as to limit his opportunities for peculation.
[7] After the mid-first century, as a result of the Pax Romana, the provinces previously governed by prefects, who were military men, were gradually moved into the hands of procurators, who were essentially civilian fiscal officials.
Egypt, as the special private domain of the emperor, which was administered by a Praefectus Augustalis, remained the exception.