The Praetorian Guard, which originated in 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.
Occurrence
Officially, the founder of the first Praetorian cohorts is August. It was he who first created such military formations. However, even under the republican system, similar units already existed. The commanders were surrounded by close warriors, friends and freedmen who were the support and bodyguards of large military figures. They did not go to distant conquests, but always remained 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 the young men who entered this formation were constantly under the ruler, they had access to the richest trophies, in addition, their service was not as heavy as that of the legionnaires. Of no small importance was the fact of rapid career growth.
Praetorians under Augustus
Emperor Augustus created Praetorian troops solely as a counterweight to the border legions, and they were deployed in all corners of Italy. In the capital there were only 3 cohorts. In total, 9 cohorts of 4,500 people were created under him. At the head of each was the prefect of Praetorium.
Under Augustus, the number of soldiers of each such unit totaled 500 people, in the future this figure grew and reached 1000, and possibly even 1,500 by the beginning of the 3rd century AD. e.
Augustus himself never concentrated in Rome more than three cohorts of Praetorians. After Augustus, under Tiberius, the entire Praetorian Guard, which numbered 14 cohorts, was located in the capital under the command of one commander. It was a powerful force.
Praetorian privileges and features
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 in constant campaigns and sometimes in unbearable conditions. The Praetorians had to pay a good fee so that there was no dissatisfaction with the service in their ranks, which could lead to a coup.
The Praetorians were reluctant to go on military campaigns and were rarely involved in this. But in the conspiracies, these were the first persons and actively participated in them during the empire.
The cohorts included residents of Italy and neighboring provinces, which had long been subordinate to Rome. Of the most notable young men and skilled warriors, the Praetorian guard was recruited. History nevertheless changed the initial order of recruitment of the Praetorians. After they again tried to remove the emperor, Septimius Severus dispersed all the Praetorians and recruited new, but from among the Danube legions that were devoted to him.
During the performance of 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.
Primary duty
The Praetorian Guard of Rome considered the protection of the emperor and his family to be the main duty. It should be understood that in addition to the cohorts of the Praetorians, i.e., their total number, there was a separate detachment, not subject to the prefect of the praetorium, but directly reporting to the emperor. These were the emperor's personal bodyguards, which consisted of close associates, friends, eminent warriors, as well as cavalry units. With the advent of the 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 support. Data on the size of this special detachment has reached us. It consisted of 1,000 warriors, and their leader was called the chiliarch, which means “thousandth”. All the time the existence of bodyguards, up to 312 years BC. e., there was a constant change in their composition. This may indicate their high influence on politics at certain points in history or about their additional responsibilities 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 served as defenders of its territory. Moreover, if throughout the empire, more precisely in the provinces, Roman legions were located , responsible for the protection, tranquility and stability of specific regions, in Italy itself there were no such forces.
In fact, Italy remained unprotected. And the Praetorian Guard created under Augustus played the role of internal troops. Since ancient times, robber squads raided Italian cities and settlements, the responsibility of fighting which was entrusted to the cohort of Praetorians.
Police functions
For a long time, the Praetorians did not fulfill the function of fighting against robbers, since soon all their cohorts were transferred to Rome. From this time on, the main duties of the defenders of the emperor, in addition to the fight against robbers, are added to others. The Praetorian Guard, urban cohorts, and Vigils watched the internal order of the city, and were also busy fighting fires.
Regarding police functions, it should be noted that Rome already in the II century BC. e. was a large metropolis with 1.5 million inhabitants. It was the largest city in the world, with which it remained for more than a century. By the way, the population of modern Rome is only 2 times more - about 3 million people. Rampantry, crime, murder, theft were commonplace for Rome.
A huge number of dark alleys contributed to the growth of crime. Every morning they showed traces of crimes in the form of corpses of wealthy citizens. The criminal situation greatly bothered both the emperor and the ordinary inhabitants of Rome. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Praetorian Guard acted as guardians of the rule of law.
Fire functions
With fires, the situation was no easier. In modern cities, all developers want to get closer to the center and are reluctant to place their buildings in the free outlying territories. At that time in Rome the situation was similar. As a result, the streets were very narrow. For example, during the time of Nero, in the center of Rome there were only two wide streets (4-5 and 6.5 m), the rest reached a width of only 2-3 meters. Most of the streets were paths and alleys.
More eloquently this is evidenced by the fact that residents 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 areas of the capital: as a result of the close proximity of houses to each other, the fire spread very quickly around the city.
In the history of Rome there were fires during which most of the city burned out. Therefore, along with maintaining the internal law and order, the activity of firefighters was extremely important. The Emperor, realizing this perfectly, was charged with the duty of the Praetorians to fight fire.
Interesting Facts
The Praetorian Guard of Rome, the upheavals in the political history of which occupied a rather significant place, played not the last role in them, and in some cases - even the decisive one.
The Praetorians were involved in almost all such events. Some emperors were killed by their own bodyguards. For example, Commodus and Caligula. The praetorian prefects often after the removal of the emperor themselves became the head of the empire. For example, Makrin, after a successful conspiracy and assassination of the emperor Caracalla, he himself became a ruler. After the era of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the Praetorian Guard turned into brutal mercenaries.
The Praetorian Institute was destroyed during the reign of Emperor Constantine, known for transferring the capital to Byzantium, later called Constantinople, now Istanbul. It was he in 312 AD e. abolished the Praetorian Guard, calling it "a permanent nest of rebellion and debauchery."
To summarize all of the above. Over time, the Praetorians, originally created to maintain order and protect the imperial persons, turned into monsters. They became a machine for the removal of "objectionable rulers." At the same time, the cohorts served the empire well, removing the weak personalities 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 rather difficult to unequivocally answer the question of who the Praetorians - “monsters” or “orderlies” are.