Praetorian Guard

[Alexandros Oranje]

Does anyone know how many men were in the Praetorian guard?

[Primus Pilus]

Does anyone know how many men were in the Praetorian guard?

 

That depends very much on the who and when. Typically it was 9 cohorts of 1,000 men... here's a VERY rough lineage.

 

133 BCE - Scipio Aemilianus created a personal guard of clients called the cohors praetoria. This practice continued for imperatorial generals throughout the late Republic and the civil war period.

 

31 BCE - 14 CE - Augustus essentially created an imperial guard based on the previous practice - there is some debate on the beginning numbers but it is often accepted that there were 9 cohors of 500 men or roughly the same size as a legion (4,500 men). Before the death of Augustus the number of men per cohor doubled.

 

69 CE - Under Vitellius it swelled to 16 cohorts of 1,000 men.

 

c. 69 - 70 CE - Vespasian reduced it back to the original 9

 

c. 81 - 82 CE - Domitian, his son, increased it to 10

 

c. 193 CE - Upon the assassinations of Commodus, Pertinax and Didus Julianus, Septimius Severus disbanded the praetorians and reformed them from his own loyal legions. The number may have increased nominally, but the base 10 cohors remained.

 

c. 312 CE - Constantine disbanded the praetorians permanently though a form of guard units would always remain. (ie Scholae Palatinae)

[Alexandros Oranje]

Ah cool, are you basing this on the writings of people like Tacitus? I was just reading some there... where else should I look? Suetonius?

[sylla]

133 BCE - Scipio Aemilianus created a personal guard of clients called the cohors praetoria.

The classical source here is presumably SP Festus, De verborum significatione Book 14.

 

From this text, it seems no hint was given by the author on which Africanus (Major or Minor) was he talking about.

Edited October 21, 2009 by sylla

[Primus Pilus]

133 BCE - Scipio Aemilianus created a personal guard of clients called the cohors praetoria.

The classical source here is presumably SP Festus, De verborum significatione Book 14.

 

From this text, it seems no hint was given by the author on which Africanus (Major or Minor) was he talking about.

 

Lacus Curtus provides some quick reference background on the who said what. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roma...raetoriani.html

[sylla]

133 BCE - Scipio Aemilianus created a personal guard of clients called the cohors praetoria.

The classical source here is presumably SP Festus, De verborum significatione Book 14.

 

From this text, it seems no hint was given by the author on which Africanus (Major or Minor) was he talking about.

 

Lacus Curtus provides some quick reference background on the who said what. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roma...raetoriani.html

Latium antiquum a Tiberi Cerceios servatum est m. p. L longitudine: tam tenues primordio imperi fuere radices. colonis saepe mutatis tenuere alii aliis temporibus, Aborigenes, Pelasgi, Arcades, Siculi, Aurunci, Rutuli et ultra Cerceios Volsci, Osci, Ausones, unde nomen Lati processit ad Lirim amnem. in principio est Ostia colonia ab Romano rege deducta, oppidum Laurentum, lucus Iovis Indigetis, amnis Numicius, Ardea a Dana

Edited January 1, 2010 by sylla