This is the Authorized Version translation of ἀνθύπατος, the Gr. equivalent of pro consule, ‘proconsul’ (q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] ). In NT times ‘proconsul’ was the name given to the governor of a senatorial province-that is, a province under the supervision of the Roman Senate, which appointed the governors. In the NT the following senatorial provinces are referred to as under proconsuls: Asia, governed by an ex-consul, called proconsul, a province of the highest class, and Cyprus and Achaia, each governed by an ex-praetor, also called proconsul, provinces of the second class.
A. Souter.