Provincial Governor

A Provincial Governor, sometimes referred to as an Imperial Governor, is the Emperor's viceroy of a province of the Third Empire.

The Empire conventionally permits a significant degree of autonomy in the provinces where imperial peace, law and taxes are honoured. It is only when a province fails to fulfil these obligations that the emperor appoints a Provincial Governor to restore order. Governors are delegated imperium – that is, the authority of the emperor – within their province. This imperium encompasses civil and military authority; the governor being both chief imperial magistrate and commander of legionary forces within their province.

The duties of a Provincial Governor are as extensive as his authority. Governors are rarely appointed for a fixed term length, but are rather assigned broad mandates to achieve. This includes the imposition of imperial law (which, in the established jurisprudence of Tamriel, eclipses local law and custom), the adjudication of appeals and petitions, the mediation of disputes between local rulers, and the collection of taxes owed to the emperor by every citizen of the Empire.

Provincial Governors are conventionally accompanied by at least one imperial legion to augment their authority. Generals appointed to governorates frequently personally command their mandated legions, whereas civilian governors tend to delegate this to legates. Governors are otherwise supported by a sophisticated bureaucracy.

The large size of imperial provinces necessitates the appointment of Imperial Prefects as delegates of a Provincial Governor, who are generally appointed to important cities distant from the governor's headquarters.