Sometimes creating a permanent empire is just a side effect.
“At first, a provincia was a temporary assignment, which came into existence when assigned and ceased to exist when completed. As the Romans decide to permanently garrison their overseas possessions, that creates permanent provinciae (still assignments), which then by necessity as we move into the second century come to be geographically defined to establish a boundary for the magistrate’s imperium. At the same time, what the magistrate is doing is changing as these provinciae increasingly transition from being active war zones (though they often have militarily active frontiers) to primarily administrative jobs governing territory that has been conquered and subdued for some time.”
https://acoup.blog/2023/11/03/collections-how-to-roman-republic-101-addenda-the-provinces/