The Praetorian Guard, which originated during the years of the republic and established itself under the empire, subsequently played a huge political role. Even the emperors had to reckon with the Praetorians, since they could remove the unwanted, and force some to take the throne, officially remaining the bodyguards of the emperors and consuls.
Rise
It is officially believed that the founder of the first Praetorian cohorts is Augustus. It was he who first created such military formations. However, even under the republican system, such units already existed. The generals were surrounded by close warriors, friends and freedmen, who were the support and bodyguards of major military figures. They did not go on distant conquests, but always stayed with their "master".
It must be said that the Praetorian Guard was formed mainly from young men of high social status. Many wanted to be part of the cohort. Why? Yes, because those who are included in suchThe formation of the young men was constantly with the ruler, they had access to the richest trophies, in addition, their service was not as difficult as that of the legionnaires. The fact of rapid career growth played an important role here.
Praetorians under Augustus
Emperor Augustus created Praetorian detachments solely as a counterbalance to the frontier legions, and they were deployed in all corners of Italy. There were only 3 cohorts in the capital. In total, 9 cohorts of 4,500 people were created under him. Each was headed by a praetorian prefect.
Under Augustus, the number of soldiers of each such unit numbered 500 people, later this figure grew and reached 1000, and possibly even 1,500 by the beginning of the 3rd century AD. e.
Augustus himself never concentrated more than three cohorts of Praetorians in Rome. After Augustus, under Tiberius, the entire Praetorian guard, numbering 14 cohorts, was located in the capital under the command of one general. It was a powerful force.
Privileges and features of Praetorians
Unlike the legionnaires who served 25 years, the Praetorians were in the service for 16 years. At the same time, their salary was on average 330% higher than that of legionnaires who were on constant campaigns and sometimes in unbearable conditions. The Praetorians had to be well paid so that there would be no dissatisfaction with their service in their ranks, which could lead to a coup.
Praetorians were reluctant to go to the militarycampaigns and were involved in this extremely rarely. But in conspiracies, they were the first persons and actively participated in them during the empire.
The ranks of the cohorts included residents of Italy and neighboring provinces, which had long been subordinate to Rome. From the most noble youths and skilled warriors, the Praetorian Guard was recruited. History nevertheless changed the original order of the recruitment of Praetorians. After they again tried to remove the emperor, Septimius Severus dispersed all the Praetorians and recruited new ones, but from among the Danubian legions that were devoted to him.
During the performance of their official duties, the Praetorians dressed in togas, which were considered the clothes of the nobility and the rich. The banners of the cohorts depicted portraits of the ruler, his family, as well as the names of the battles that ended in the victory of the emperor.
Main Duty
The Praetorian Guard of Rome considered the protection of the emperor and his family as the main duty. It should be understood that in addition to the cohorts of Praetorians, that is, their entire number, there was a separate detachment, not subject to the prefect of the praetorian, but directly subordinate to the emperor. These were the personal bodyguards of the emperor, which consisted of close associates, friends, eminent warriors, as well as parts of the cavalry. With the advent of a new ruler, the composition of this detachment changed. For example, Augustus formed it from the Germans, and under Julius-Claudius, the Praetorian Guard was formed from the Batavians.
The Emperor's personal bodyguards were his backbone. We have received data on the strength of this special detachment. Heconsisted of 1000 warriors, and their leader was called a chiliarch, which means "thousander" in translation. The entire time of the existence of bodyguards, up to 312 AD. e., there was a constant change in their composition. This may indicate their high influence on politics at certain points in history or their additional duties as warriors.
Other duties: internal troops
It should be said that the Roman Empire at that moment of historical development did not have internal troops. Therefore, the created Praetorian cohorts performed the functions of defenders of its territory. Moreover, if throughout the empire, more precisely in the provinces, there were Roman legions responsible for the protection, tranquility and stability of specific regions, in Italy itself such forces did not exist.
In fact, Italy remained without protection. And the Praetorian Guard created under Augustus played the role of internal troops. Since ancient times, Italian cities and settlements have been raided by robber detachments, the duty of fighting which was entrusted to the Praetorian cohorts.
Police functions
For a long time, the Praetorians did not fulfill the function of fighting the robbers, because soon all their cohorts were transferred to Rome. Since that time, the main duties of the defenders of the emperor, in addition to the fight against robbers, have been added to others. The Praetorian Guard, city cohorts and vigils kept watch over the internal order in the city, and were also busy fighting fires.
With regards to police functions, it should be noted that Rome already in the II century AD. e. waslarge metropolitan area with 1.5 million inhabitants. It was the largest city in the world, which it remained for more than one century. By the way, the population of modern Rome is only 2 twice as large - about 3 million people. Revelry, crime, murder, theft were commonplace for Rome.
A huge number of dark alleys contributed to the growth of crime. Every morning, traces of crimes were found in them in the form of corpses of we althy citizens. The criminal situation greatly worried both the emperor and the ordinary inhabitants of Rome. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Praetorian Guard served as law enforcement officers.
Fire functions
With the fires, the situation was not easier. In modern cities, all developers want to get closer to the center and are reluctant to locate their buildings in free suburban areas. At that time in Rome the situation was similar. As a result, the streets were very narrow. For example, in the time of Nero in the center of Rome there were only two wide streets (4-5 and 6.5 m), the rest were only 2-3 meters wide. Most of the streets were just paths and lanes.
More eloquently about this is the fact that the inhabitants of two neighboring houses could greet each other with a handshake through the window. The criminal situation led to the appearance of fires in various districts of the capital: as a result of the proximity of houses to each other, the fire spread throughout the city very quickly.
In the history of RomeThere were fires during which most of the city burned out. Therefore, along with the maintenance of internal law and order, the activity of firefighters was extremely important. The emperor, knowing this perfectly well, charged the Praetorians with fighting fire.
Interesting facts
The Praetorian Guard of Rome, whose upheavals in the political history of which occupied a rather significant place, played an important role in them, and in some cases even a decisive one.
Praetorians were involved in almost all such events. Some emperors were killed by their own bodyguards. For example, Commodus and Caligula. The prefects of the Praetorians often, after the removal of the emperor, themselves became the head of the empire. For example, Macrinus, after a successful conspiracy and the assassination of Emperor Caracalla, became the ruler himself. After the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the Praetorian Guard turned into brutal mercenaries.
The institute of Praetorians was destroyed during the reign of Emperor Constantine, famous for the transfer of the capital to Byzantium, later called Constantinople, now Istanbul. It was he who in 312 AD. e. abolished the Praetorian Guard, calling it a "permanent nest of rebellion and debauchery."
Summarize all of the above. Over time, the Praetorians, originally created to maintain order and protect the imperial people, turned into monsters. They became a machine for the removal of "objectionable rulers." At the same time, the cohorts served the empire well,removing weak individuals from power and supporting the strong, thus strengthening the entire state. Stability in the capital and, accordingly, the empire was the full merit of the emperor's bodyguards. Therefore, it is quite difficult to unequivocally answer the question of who the Praetorians are - "monsters" or "orderlies" - is quite difficult.
