Praetorians in the context of "Praetorians Relief"

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⭐ Core Definition: Praetorians

The Praetorian Guard (Latin: cohortes praetoriae) was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and gathering military intelligence.

During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guards were escorts for high-ranking political officials (senators and procurators) and were bodyguards for the senior officers of the Roman legions. In 27 BC, after Rome's transition from republic to empire, the first emperor of Rome, Augustus, designated the Praetorians as his personal security escort. For three centuries, the guards of the Roman emperor were also known for their palace intrigues, by whose influence upon imperial politics the Praetorians could overthrow an emperor and then proclaim his successor as the new caesar of Rome. In AD 312, Constantine the Great disbanded the cohortes praetoriae and destroyed their barracks at the Castra Praetoria.

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👉 Praetorians in the context of Praetorians Relief

The Praetorians Relief is a Roman marble relief dated to c. 51–52 AD from the Arch of Claudius in Rome, now housed in the Louvre-Lens.

It depicts three soldiers in high relief in the foreground, while two others in the background, accompanied by a standard bearer, are made in bas-relief. The standard-bearer holds an aquila standard, where the eagle grasps a thunderbolt in its talons. The soldiers have been identified as Praetorians due to the richness of the apparel, particularly the helmets, the ceremonial dress and oval shields. The figures are wearing calcei and not caligae, worn by ordinary soldiers. However, according to Boris Rankov, "the Attic-style helmets are almost certainly an artistic convention". Rankov suggests that "early in their history the Praetorians were still using the Montefortino-style helmet normal in the legions of the Republic and early Empire".

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Praetorians Relief → Aquila (Roman) → Thunderbolt → Ancient Roman religion → Interpretatio graeca → Jupiter (mythology) → Latin language → Imperial Roman army → Bodyguard → Counterintelligence → Crowd control → Military intelligence → Roman Republic → Roman Senate → Procurator (ancient Rome) → Roman legion → Augustus → Caesar (title) → Constantine the Great → Castra Praetoria →