Praetorian Guard
For the video game, see Praetorians (game)The
Praetorian Guard (sometimes
Prætorian Guard) (in
Latin:
praetoriani) comprised a special force of
bodyguards used by
Roman Emperors. Before the Emperors, the guard was employed under
generals, dating at least to the
Scipio family — around
275 BC. The members of the Praetorian Guard were among the most skilled and celebrated warriors in
ancient history.
The term "Praetorian" came from the tent of the commanding general or
praetor of a
Roman army in the field—the
praetorium. It was a habit of many Roman generals to choose from the ranks a private force of soldiers to act as bodyguards of the tent or the person. They consisted of both infantry and cavalry. In time, this
cohort came to be known as the
cohors praetoria, and various notable figures possessed one, including
Julius Caesar,
Mark Antony and
Augustus (Octavian). As Caesar discovered with the
Legio X Equestris, a powerful unit more dangerous than its fellow legions was desirable in the field. When Augustus became the first ruler of the
Roman Empire in
27 BC, he decided such a formation was useful not only in war but also in politics. Thus, from the ranks of the legions throughout the provinces, Augustus recruited the Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard were the only body of armed soldiers permitted south of the
Rubicon, a river which marked the northern boundary of
Italy.
Early Guard
The group that was formed initially differed greatly from the later Guard, which would
assassinate emperors. While Augustus understood the need to have a protector in the maelstrom of
Rome, he was careful to uphold the Republican veneer of his regime. Thus he allowed only nine cohorts to be formed, originally at 500 but increased to 1,000 men each, and only three were kept on duty at any given time in the capital. A small number of detached cavalry units (
turma) of 30 men each were also organized. While they patrolled inconspicuously in the palace and major buildings, the others were stationed in the towns surrounding Rome; no threats were possible from these individual cohorts. This system was not radically changed with the arrival of two
Praetorian prefects in
2 BC, Quintus Ostorius Scapula and Salvius Aper, although organization and command were improved.
Augustus' death on
August 19,
AD 14, marked the end of Praetorian calm, the only time the Praetorian Guard did not use its military strength to play a part in the politics of Rome to force its own agenda. Augustus would be the sole emperor that would command the Praetorians' complete loyalty. From his death onward, the Praetorians would serve what was in their best interests. Through the machinations of their ambitious prefect,
Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the Guard was brought from the Italian barracks into Rome itself. In 23, Sejanus convinced
Tiberius to have the
Castra Praetoria (the camp of the Praetorians) built just outside of Rome. One of these cohorts held the daily guard at the imperial palace. Henceforth the entire Guard was at the disposal of the emperors, but the rulers were now equally at the mercy of the Praetorians. The reality of this was seen in 31 when
Tiberius was forced to rely upon his own
cohors praetoria against partisans of Sejanus. Although the Praetorian Guard proved faithful to the aging Tiberius, their potential political power had been made clear.
While campaigning, the Praetorians were the equal of any formation in the Roman Army. Seldom used in the early reigns, they were quite active by 69. They fought well at the first
battle of Bedriacum for
Otho. Under
Domitian and
Trajan, the guard took part in wars from
Dacia to
Mesopotamia, while with
Marcus Aurelius, years were spent on the Danubian frontier. Throughout the 3rd century, the Praetorians assisted the emperors in various campaigns.
Political meddling
Following the death of
Sejanus, who was sacrificed for the
Donativum (imperial gift) promised by Tiberius, the Guards began to play an increasingly ambitious and bloody game in the Empire. With the right amount of money, or at will, they assassinated emperors, bullied their own prefects, or turned on the people of Rome. In 41
Caligula was killed by conspirators from the senatorial class and from the Guard. The Praetorians placed
Claudius on the throne, daring the Senate to oppose their decision.
While the Guard had the power to kill off emperors, it had no role in government administration, unlike the personnel of the palace, the Senate, and the bureaucracy. Often after an outrageous act of violence, revenge by the new ruler was forthcoming. In 193 A.D.
Didius Julianus purchased the Empire from the Guard for a vast sum, when the Guard auctioned it off after killing
Pertinax. Later that year
Septimius Severus marched into Rome, disbanded the Praetorians and started a new formation from his own Pannonian Legions. Even
Vespasian in 69, who relied upon the disgruntled cohorts dismissed by
Vitellius, reduced their rank in number when ascending the throne. As a further safeguard, he appointed his son,
Titus as Praetorian Prefect. Unruly mobs in Rome fought often with the Praetorians in
Maximinus Thrax's reign in vicious street battles.
In 271
Aurelian sailed east to destroy the power of
Palmyra, Syria, with a force of legionary detachments, Praetorian cohorts, and other cavalry units. The Palmyrans were easily defeated. This led to the orthodox view that
Diocletian and his colleagues evolved the
sacer comitatus (the field escort of the emperors), which included field units that utilized a selection process and command structure modeled after the old Praetorian cohorts, but was not of uniform composition and was much larger than a Praetorian cohort.
Guard's Twilight Years
In 284
Diocletian reduced the status of the Praetorians; they were no longer to be part of palace life, as Diocletian lived in
Nicomedia, some 60 miles (100 km) from
Byzantium in
Asia Minor. Two new corps, the
Jovians and
Herculians (named after the gods Jove, or Jupiter, and Hercules, associated with the senior and junior emperor), replaced the Praetorians as the personal protectors of the emperors, a practice that remained intact with the
tetrarchy. By the time Diocletian retired on
May 1,
305, their barracks (
Castra Praetoria) seems to have housed only a minor garrison of Rome.
The final act of the Praetorians in imperial history started in 306, when
Maxentius, son of the retired emperor
Maximian, was passed over as a successor: the troops took matters into their own hands and elevated him to the position of emperor in Italy on
October 28.
Caesar Flavius Valerius Severus, following the orders of
Galerius, attempted to disband the Guard but only managed to lead the rest of them in revolting and joining Maxentius. When
Constantine the Great, launching an invasion of Italy in 312, forced a final confrontation at the
Milvian Bridge, the Praetorian cohorts made up most of Maxentius' army. Later in Rome, the victorious Constantine definitively disbanded the Praetorian Guard. The soldiers were sent out to various corners of the Empire, and the Castra Praetoria was demolished. For over 300 years they had served, and the destruction of their fortress was a grand gesture, inaugurating a new age of imperial history and ending the Praetorians'.
Although its name has become synonymous with intrigue, conspiracy, disloyalty and assassination, it could be argued that for the first two centuries of its existence the Praetorian Guard was, on the whole, a positive force in the Roman state. During this time it mostly removed (or allowed to be removed) cruel, weak and unpopular emperors while generally supporting just, strong and popular ones. By protecting these monarchs, thus extending their reigns, and also by keeping the disorders of the mobs of Rome and the intrigues of the Senate in line, the Guard helped give the empire a much needed stability that led to the period known as the
Pax Romana. It was not until after the reign of
Marcus Aurelius, when this period is generally considered to have ended, that the guard began to deteriorate into the ruthless, mercenary and meddling force for which it has become infamous. However, during the
Severan dynasty and afterwards during the
Crisis of the Third Century, the legions, the Senate and the emperorship along with the rest of Roman government were falling into decadence as well.
Although the Praetorians have similarities, they are unlike any of the regular
Legions of the
Roman Empire. Their nine
cohorts (one less than a legion) were larger, the pay and benefits were better, and its military abilities were reliable. They also received gifts of money called
Donativum from the emperors. As conceived by Augustus, the Praetorian cohorts totaled around 9,000 men, recruited from the legions of the regular army or drawn from the most deserving youths in
Etruria,
Umbria, and
Latium (three provinces in central Italy). Over time the pool of recruits expanded to
Macedonia,
Hispania Baetica,
Hispania Tarraconensis,
Lusitania and
Illyricum.
Vitellius formed a new Guard out of the
Germanic legions, while
Septimus Severus did the same with the
Pannonian legions. He also chose replacements for the units' ranks from throughout the Roman Empire.
Around the time of
Augustus (c. 5) each cohort of the Praetorians numbered 1,000 men, increasing to a high-water mark of 1,500 men. As with the normal legions, the body of troops actually ready for service was much smaller. Tacitus reports that the number of cohorts was increased to twelve from nine in 47. In 69 it was briefly increased to sixteen cohorts by
Vitellius, but
Vespasian quickly reduced it again to nine. Finally in 101 their number was increased once more to ten, resulting in a force of 5,000 troops, whose status was at least elite.
The training of guardsmen was more intense than in the legions because of the amount of free time available, when a cohort was not posted or traveling with the emperor. The Guard followed the same lines as those elsewhere. Equipment and armour were also the same with one notable exception — specially decorated breastplates, excellent for
parades and state functions. Insignia of the "Moon and Stars" and the "Scorpion" were particularly associated with the Praetorians. Thus, each guardsman possessed two suits of
armor, one for Roman duty and one for the field.
*The Praetorians received substantially higher pay than other Roman soldiers in any of the legions, on a system known as
sesquiplex stipendum, or by pay-and-a-half. So if the legionaires received 225
denarii, the guards received 375.
Domitian and
Septimius Severus increased the
stipendum (payment) to 1,500 denarii, distributed three times a year in January, May and September.
On special occasions they received special
donativum from the emperor.
Upon retiring, a soldier of the Praetorians was granted 20,000
sesterces (5,000 denarii), a gift of land, and a Diplomata reading "to the
warrior who bravely and faithfully completed his service." Many chose to enter the
Evocati, while others reenlisted in the hopes of gaining further promotion and other possible high positions in the Roman state.
Rank and file
| Ranks of the Praetorian Guard, in ascending order | | Milites | Regular soldiers |
|---|
| Immunes | After five years these soldiers were allowed to serve in the Equites singulares (cavalry branch) or as Speculatores (special agents) |
|---|
| Principales | Legionary administrators |
|---|
| Evocati | After 16 years of service, retirement was possible but most soldiers chose to stay in this honorary unit. |
|---|
| Centuriones | Soldiers transferred to the Praetorian Guard after service in the legions, the Vigiles or the Urban cohort |
|---|
| Tribuni | These officers also from the legions and usually of the Equestrian class, commanded a cohort. Centurions could rarely be promoted to the Tribuneship |
|---|
| Procuratores | A rank of the Equestrians |
|---|
| Praefectus | Available to the Vigiles and urban cohorts; the highest rank in the Praetorian Guard, head of the Praetorian Guard |
|---|
*Prefect(s) in command of the Praetorian Guard
See the article Praetorian prefect, which also lists the incumbents of the post of
Praefectus praetorio and covers the essentially civilian second life of the office, since ca 300, as administrator of a quarter of the empire), and its Germanic continuation
*In common language, the phrase "praetorian guard(s)" designates an exclusive, unconditionally loyal group personally attached to powerful people, especially dictators such as
Napoleon I's
Imperial Guard,
Adolf Hitler's
SS troops or Romania's former communist leader
Ceauşescu's
Securitate (secret police).
*However, the term is also used in unarmed, even private contexts: for example, a corporate officer or politician may have a small group of associates or followers whom a
journalist may describe as a "praetorian guard". Such use is often
pejorative, meant to indicate that the followers are fanatics or extremists and/or that the leader is tyrannical or paranoid.
*
Praetorianism is used to mean the advocacy or practice of
military dictatorship.
*
John Stockwell, a former member of the CIA, used the title
The Praetorian Guard for his book about the negative aspects of U.S. foreign policy.
*
The Praetorian prefecture under the Julio-Claudians – path to power or dead-end job?
