Late Roman and Byzantine-Era Imperial Guard Units
Military unit
The
Scholae Palatinae
(
lit.
'
Palatine Schools
'
;
Greek
:
Σχολα?
,
romanized
:
Scholai
) were an elite military
imperial guard
unit, usually ascribed to the
Roman Emperor
Constantine the Great
as a replacement for the
equites singulares Augusti
, the cavalry arm of the
Praetorian Guard
. The
Scholae
survived in Roman and later
Byzantine
service until they disappeared from the historical record in the late 11th century, during the reign of
Alexios I Komnenos
.
4th?7th centuries: imperial guards
[
edit
]
History and structure
[
edit
]
During the early
4th century
,
Caesar
Flavius Valerius Severus
attempted to disband the remaining units of the Praetorian Guard on the orders of
Galerius
. In response, the Praetorians turned to
Maxentius
, the son of the retired emperor Maximian, and proclaimed him their emperor on 28 October 306. When
Constantine the Great
(
r.
306?337
), launching an invasion of Italy in 312, forced a final confrontation at the
Milvian Bridge
, the Praetorian cohorts made up the most prominent element of Maxentius' army. Later, in Rome, the victorious Constantine definitively disbanded the Praetorian Guard. Although there is no direct evidence that Constantine established the
Scholae Palatinae
at the same time, the lack of a bodyguard unit would have become immediately apparent, and he is commonly regarded as their founder. Nevertheless, some units, such as the
schola gentilium
("school of tribesmen") are attested much earlier than 312, and may have their origins in the reign of
Diocletian
(r. 284?305).
[1]
The term "
schola
" was commonly used in the early 4th century to refer to organized corps of the imperial retinue, both civil and military, and derives from the fact that they occupied specific rooms or chambers in the palace.
[
clarification needed
]
Each
schola
was formed into an elite cavalry regiment of around 500 troops.
[a]
Many scholarians (Latin:
scholares
, Greek: σχολ?ριοι,
scholarioi
) were recruited from among
Germanic tribes
.
[2]
In the
West
, these were
Franks
and
Alamanni
,
[3]
while in the East,
Goths
were employed. In the
East
, under the impact of anti-Gothic policies, from the mid-5th century they were largely replaced with
Armenians
and
Isaurians
. However, evidence of the scholarians mentioned in primary sources indicates that the presence of native Romans in the
scholae
was not negligible. Of the recorded and named scholarians in the fourth century, ten are definitely Roman, forty one probably Roman; whilst only five are definitely barbarian and eleven probably barbarian.
[4]
Each
schola
was commanded by a
tribunus
who ranked as a
comes
of the first class, and who were discharged with a rank equal to that of a provincial
dux
.
[5]
The
tribunus
had a number of senior officers called
domestici
or
protectores
directly under him.
[6]
Unlike the Praetorians, there was no overall military commander of the
scholae
, and the Emperor retained direct control over them; however, for administrative purposes, the
scholae
were eventually placed under the direction of the
magister officiorum
.
[7]
In the
Notitia Dignitatum
of the late 4th century, seven
scholae
are listed for the Eastern Empire and five for the Western.
[8]
In
Justinian I
's time (r. 527?565), but also possibly in earlier times, the
scholae
were billeted in the wider neighbourhood of
Constantinople
, in the towns of
Bithynia
and
Thrace
, serving in the palace by rotation.
[2]
As befitted their guards status, the scholarians received higher pay and enjoyed more privileges than the regular army: they received extra rations (
annonae civicae
), were exempt from the recruitment tax (
privilegiis scholarum
) and were often used by the Emperors on civilian missions inside the Empire.
[6]
Gradually however, the ease of palace life and lack of actual campaigning, as the Emperors ceased to take the field themselves, lessened their combat abilities. In the East, they were eventually replaced as the main imperial bodyguard by the
Excubitors
, founded by Emperor
Leo I the Thracian
(r. 457?474), while in the West, they were permanently disbanded by the
Ostrogoth
ruler
Theodoric the Great
(ruler of Italy in 493?526).
[9]
Under Emperor
Zeno
(r. 474?491), they degenerated to parade-ground display troops: as it became possible to buy an appointment into the ranks of the
scholae
, and the social status and benefits this entailed, the units were increasingly filled with by the capital's well-connected young nobility. Emperor Justinian is said to have caused panic amongst their members by proposing that they be sent on an expedition. Justinian also raised four "supernumerary"
scholae
of 2,000 men purely in order to raise money from the sale of the appointments. It seems that this increase was reverted by the same emperor later.
[6]
Forty
scholares
, named
candidati
for their bright white tunics, were selected to form the Emperor's personal bodyguard,
[10]
and although by the 6th century they too fulfilled a purely ceremonial role, in the 4th century they accompanied the emperors on campaign, as for example
Julian
(r. 361?363) in Persia.
[11]
-
The insignia of the Western
scholae
, from the
Notitia Dignitatum
.
-
The insignia of the Eastern
scholae
, from the
Notitia Dignitatum
.
-
Palatine insignia on the shields of the soldiers in the
Arrest of Christ
on the
Brescia Casket
, late 4th century.
List of
scholae
from the
Notitia Dignitatum
[
edit
]
In the Western Empire (the Western part of the
Notitia
refers to the 420s):
- Scola scutariorum prima
- Scola scutariorum secunda
- Scola armaturarum seniorum
- Scola gentilium seniorum
- Scola scutatorum tertia
|
In the Eastern Empire (the Eastern part of the
Notitia
refers to the 390s):
- Scola scutariorum prima
- Scola scutariorum secunda
- Scola gentilium seniorum
[b]
- Scola scutariorum sagittariorum
, a unit of horse archers.
- Scola scutariorum clibanariorum
, a unit of
clibanarii
.
- Scola armaturarum iuniorum
- Scola gentilium iuniorum
|
Note: The suffixes "
seniorum
" and "
iuniorum
" refer to units of the same ancestry, now commonly held to have been created from the division of the Roman army in 364 between emperors
Valens
and
Valentinian I
. The
seniores
are the "senior" Western units, while
iuniores
their "junior" Eastern counterparts.
Notable scholarians
[
edit
]
8th?11th centuries: the
scholae
as one of the
tagmata
[
edit
]
The
scholae
, along with the
excubitores
, continued to exist in the 7th and early 8th centuries, although diminished in size, as purely ceremonial units. However, in ca. 743, after putting down a major rebellion of
thematic
troops, Emperor
Constantine V
(r. 741?775) reformed the old guard units of Constantinople into the new
tagmata
regiments, which were meant to provide the emperor with a core of professional and loyal troops.
[14]
The
tagmata
were professional heavy cavalry units, garrisoned in and around Constantinople, forming the central reserve of the Byzantine military system and the core of the imperial expeditionary forces. In addition, like their Late Roman ancestors, they were an important stage in a military career for young aristocrats, which could lead to major field commands or state offices.
[15]
The exact size of the
tagmata
is a subject of debate. Estimates range from 1,000
[16]
to 4,000
[17]
men. The various
tagmata
had a uniform structure, differing only in the nomenclature used for certain titles, which reflected their different ancestries. The
scholai
were headed by the
domestikos t?n schol?n
(
δομ?στικο? τ?ν σχολ?ν
, "
Domestic of the Schools
"), first attested in 767.
[18]
As the old office of the
magister officiorum
was transformed into the more or less ceremonial post of
magistros
, the
domestikos
was established as the independent commander of the
scholai
. In contemporary records, he holds the rank of
patrikios
, and is considered one of the most senior generals in status, surpassed only by the
strategos
of the
Anatolic Theme
.
[19]
By the 10th century, he had risen to be the senior officer of the entire army, thus a commander-in-chief under the Emperor in effect. In ca. 959, the post and the unit itself were divided into two separate commands, one for the East (
domestikos [t?n schol?n t?s] anatol?s
) and one for the West (
domestikos [t?n schol?n t?s] dyse?s
).
[20]
The
domestikos t?n schol?n
was assisted by two officers called
topot?r?t?s
(τοποτηρητ??, lit. "placeholder", "lieutenant"), who each commanded half of the unit, a
chartoularios
(χαρτουλ?ριο?, "secretary") and the
proex?mos
or
proximos
(head messenger).
[21]
The
tagma
was further divided into smaller units (
banda
, sing.
bandon
) commanded by a
kom?s
(
κ?μη? [τ?ν σχολ?ν]
, "Count [of the Schools]"). In the late 10th century, there were 30 such
banda
, of unknown size.
[22]
Each
kom?s
commanded 5 junior
domestikoi
, the equivalent of regular army
kentarchoi
("
centurions
").
[23]
There were also 40 standard-bearers (
bandophoroi
), who were grouped in four different categories. In the
scholai
, these were:
protiktores
(προτ?κτορε?, "protectors", deriving from the older
protectores
),
eutychophoroi
(
ε?τυχοφ?ροι
, "carriers of
eutychia
"; here
eutychia
is a corruption of
ptychia
, images of
Fortune
and
Victory
),
sk?ptrophoroi
("bearers of sceptres", i.e. staves with images on top) and
axi?matikoi
("officers").
[c]
[25]
[26]
The
kandidatoi
are still mentioned in the 10th-century work
De Ceremoniis
, but the title had become nothing more than a palace dignity, fulfilling a purely ceremonial role and entirely separate from the
tagma
of the
scholai
.
The regiment of the
scholai
is attested for the last time in 1068/9, under Emperor
Romanos IV Diogenes
(
r.
1068?1071
), in combat around
Aleppo
.
- ^
Number attested in the time of Justinian *
Codex Justinianeus
IV.65 & XXXV.1); 4th-century numbers may have been different.
- ^
Most likely the same unit mentioned for the West, transferred there after the Eastern list was compiled
- ^
For a list of the attested subaltern officers of the
scholai
in the 8th?10th centuries, cf.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
A.H.M. Jones, Later Roman Empire, 1964, Vol. I, pp. 54, 613
- ^
a
b
Haldon (1999), p. 68
- ^
In the 4th century, Franks were very numerous among palace guards;
Ammianus Marcellinus
,
Historiae
XV.5.11
- ^
Elton, pp. 151-152
- ^
Codex Theodosianus
,
VI.13
- ^
a
b
c
Treadgold (1995), p. 92
- ^
Southern & Dixon (1996), p. 57
- ^
Notitia Dignitatum
,
Pars Orient.
XI.4-10 &
Pars Occid.
IX.4-8
- ^
Southern & Dixon (1996), p. 56
- ^
Jones (1986), pp. 613-614 & 1253
- ^
Ammianus Marcellinus
,
Historiae
XXV.3.6
- ^
The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus
- ^
a
b
Ammianus Marcellinus
,
Historiae
XXXI.12.16
- ^
Haldon (1999), p. 78
- ^
Haldon (1999), pp. 270-273
- ^
Haldon (1999), p. 103
- ^
Treadgold (1980), pp. 273-277
- ^
Treadgold (1995), p. 28
- ^
Bury (1911), pp. 50-51
- ^
Treadgold (1995), p. 78
- ^
Treadgold (1995), p. 102
- ^
Bury (1911), p. 53
- ^
Treadgold (1980), p. 274
- ^
Bury (1911), pp. 55-57
- ^
Treadgold (1980), p. 276
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Elton, Hugh (1996).
Warfare in Roman Europe, AD 350–425
.
Oxford University Press
.
ISBN
978-0-19-815241-5
.
- Frank, R.I. (1969).
Scholae Palatinae. The Palace Guards of the Later Roman Empire Rome
.
- Haldon, John
(1999).
Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565?1204
. London: UCL Press.
ISBN
1-85728-495-X
.
- Haldon, John F.:
Strategies of Defence, Problems of Security: the Garrisons of Constantinople in the Middle Byzantine Period
, published in
Constantinople and its Hinterland: Papers from the Twenty-Seventh Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Oxford, April 1993
, edited by Cyril Mango and Gilbert Dagron (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1995)
- Kuhn, Hans-Joachim (1991).
Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata
(in German). Vienna: Fassbaender Verlag.
ISBN
3-9005-38-23-9
.
- Southern, Pat; Dixon, Karen R. (1996).
The Late Roman Army
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-7134-7047-X
.
- Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin (1986).
The Later Roman Empire, 284-602: A Social Economic and Administrative Survey
. Johns Hopkins University Press.
ISBN
0-8018-3354-X
.
- Treadgold, Warren T.: Notes on the Numbers and Organisation of the Ninth-Century Byzantine Army, published in
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies
21 (Oxford, 1980)
- Treadgold, Warren T. (1995).
Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081
. Stanford University Press.
ISBN
0-8047-3163-2
.
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Early
(330–717)
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Middle
(717–1204)
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Late
(1204–1453)
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or territory
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