Scholae Palatinae
| Scholar Palatinae Σχολαί | |
 Emperor Justinian I and his court, from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. The soldiers left, with the golden neck-torques typical of Byzantine guardsmen, are scholares. | |
| Active | 312 – c. 1068/9 |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire |
| Branch | Byzantine army Roman army |
| Type | Imperial guard |
| Role | Cavalry tactics Charge Executive protection Force protection Hand-to-hand combat Maneuver warfare Raiding Reconnaissance Shock tactics |
The Scholae Palatinae (lit. 'Palatine Schools';
4th–7th centuries: imperial guards
History and structure
During the early
The term "
Each schola was commanded by a
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.
Forty scholares, named candidati for their bright white tunics, were selected to form the Emperor's personal bodyguard,
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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 theArrest of Christ on the Brescia Casket, late 4th century.
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List of scholae from the Notitia Dignitatum
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In the Western Empire (the Western part of the Notitia refers to the 420s):
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In the Eastern Empire (the Eastern part of the Notitia refers to the 390s):
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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
- Julian.
- Mallobaudes, a Frankish king, tribunus armaturarum, later magister militum.
- Claudius Silvanus, a Frankish tribune and later usurper.
- Caucasian Iberia, tribunus sagittariorum at the Battle of Adrianople.[13]
- Cassio, tribunus scutariorum (likely of the elite first schola) at the Battle of Adrianople.[13]
- Anastasius and the accession of his uncle Justin I.
8th–11th centuries: the scholae as one of the tagmata
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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
The domestikos tōn scholōn was assisted by two officers called topotērētēs (τοποτηρητής, lit. "placeholder", "lieutenant"), who each commanded half of the unit, a chartoularios (χαρτουλάριος, "secretary") and the proexēmos or proximos (head messenger).[21] The tagma was further divided into smaller units (banda, sing. bandon) commanded by a komēs (κόμης [τῶν σχολῶν], "Count [of the Schools]"). In the late 10th century, there were 30 such banda, of unknown size.[22] Each komēs 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 (προτίκτορες, "protectors", deriving from the older protectores), eutychophoroi (εὐτυχοφόροι, "carriers of eutychia"; here eutychia is a corruption of ptychia, images of Fortune and Victory), skēptrophoroi ("bearers of sceptres", i.e. staves with images on top) and axiōmatikoi ("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.[27]
Footnotes
References
- ^ 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
- ^ Kühn 1991, pp. 85–91.
- ^ Bury (1911), pp. 55-57
- ^ Treadgold (1980), p. 276
- ^ Kühn 1991, p. 92.
Bibliography
- Elton, Hugh (1996). Warfare in Roman Europe, AD 350–425. ISBN 978-0-19-815241-5.
- Frank, R.I. (1969). Scholae Palatinae. The Palace Guards of the Later Roman Empire Rome.
- 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)
- Kühn, 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.
