The scholae palatinae – “new praetorians” of the late Roman empire

The scholae palatinae were part of a military guard unit, which was formed as a result of evolution. They developed from a formation of several hundred cavalrymen to a formation of an independent military corps, consisting at first of 3,500, and then as many as 7,000 soldiers. Even though at first scholares seemed different from milites praetoriani (i.a. in terms of ethnic origin, serving as the horsemen), they were, in fact, the successors of the elite guard unit of the Roman emperors. They held the same status and were entrusted with similar tasks during their service. The introduction of the post of tribune in the palace guard (scholae palatinae), as the supreme commander at the level of individual divisions (scholae), was, to a large extent, a continuation of the previous command structure within praetorian cohorts (cohortes praetoriae). What is more important, in the later period (6th century AD), within the scholae palatinae there also appeared infantry units, which made the scholares even more similar to the praetorians, who were serving in mixed cohorts (cohortes equitatae), consisting of both infantrymen and horse guardsmen. The scholares, similarly to the praetorians, held a privileged position within the Roman army. It was not without significance when it comes to their own careers or those who were related to them. The sign of times, which made these formations different, was the fact that among the scholae palatinae appeared many soldiers who were Christians. Finally, both scholares and milites praetoriani also gained profound influence upon the election of new emperors of the Rome. In hindsight, however, it turned out to have a disastrous effect on the scholae palatinae