The next magistrate was the praetor, who increased in number over the course of the Republic and were primarily judges. In the later Republic, praetors were increasingly sent out to the provinces to serve as provincial governors, especially as prorogued magistrates. In Rome, there were primarily two kinds of praetor, the "praetor urbanus" and the "praetor peregrinus", in charge of suits involving citizens and foreigners, respectively. They were also assigned, in the late Republic, to various permanent courts with specific criminal jurisdiction. When the consuls were away, the praetors were empowered to command armies and serve in the place of the consuls, and thus also held authority to call assemblies and introduce legislation