The Praetorian Guard: A History of Rome's Elite Special Forces

by Sandra Bingham

No other special force in history has a mystique equal to that of ancient Rome's thoroughbred protection and counter-insurgency squadron―the renowned Praetorian Guard. Originally conceived as a personal army for the emperor, the Guard assumed a much greater role than simple bodyguard, taking over a wide range of powers in the city and operating for more than 300 years. Inseparable from the machinery of the Roman state, the Praetorians had the power to make or break individual emperors.


In The Praetorian Guard , Sandra Bingham offers a comprehensive and timely history of this elite military unit, from its foundation by Augustus in 27 BCE to its disbandment by Constantine in 312 CE. Exploring the multifaceted nature of the Guard, she discusses and describes its arms and insignia, size and recruitment tactics, and command structure and individual duties, as well as Guard members' family and religious lives. Bingham provides readers with a unique view of how others in antiquity portrayed these special forces and includes detailed illustrations, maps, and plans to paint a clear picture of this politically mighty military institution.

Genres: Ancient History, History

246 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Vladimiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buono, buonissimo ma non eccezionale.
La storia del famoso reparto è ben delineata dagli inizi (le coorti pretoriane di alcuni generali tardo-repubblicani) fino alla naturale conclusione nel 193 (rivoluzione di Settimio Severo che caccia gli italici e li sostituisce con uomini delle proprie legioni) e del 312 (fine della guardia a Roma).

Il libro è soltanto un po' carente in alcuni aspetti, in particolare sull'armamento (pochi cenni) e nel poco materiale archeologico ed epigrafico analizzato. Approfondita invece l'analisi dei testi letterari, che però sono disponibili solo per il primo secolo (Tacito, Svetonio ecc) e non per il II secondo secolo.

[James Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good on facts: inscriptions, cohort creation etc.; less strong - I felt - on interpretation where there is a tendency to assume that the later uses of the guard can be projected fairly uncritically backwards (there is for example no discussion of whether Dio's account of the formation of the Guard might be influenced by his knowledge of figures such as Sejanus and Plautianus, who had not yet emerged at the time of the, presumably imagined, conversation).

I also thought the discussion of Sejanus's fall and soldiers in the Senate missed some facts: Augustus wore mail and was surrounded by burly senators on those occasions he feared a violent response from the senators (Suet.Aug.35), and Tiberius requested a Guard of senators too, so that the miles in forum, miles in curiam comitabatur anaphora, on which her discussion of how Sejanus was separated from the soldiers implicitly relies, is probably a literary flourish with in curiam best translated as to the very doors of the senate house, and the event becomes less problematic than suggested. Dio says that Claudius held trials in the senate with prefects present (no soldiers are mentioned) (LX.16).

I missed a discussion of the guard beyond the 1st century: Caracalla, Geta, and Plautianus etc., and I had hoped for something on how the Guard Prefectures eventually became divorced from the actual Guard.

[John Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very through. Better know your Roman Empire