The
Scholae Palatinae (literally "Palatine Schools", in ), were an elite military
guardThe Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
unit, usually ascribed to the
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
Constantine the Great as a replacement to the
Praetorian GuardThe Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. Before being appropriated for the use of the Emperors' personal guards, the title was used for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
. The
Scholae survived in Roman and later
ByzantineThe word Byzantine may refer to:Topics directly related to the Byzantine Empire* A citizen of The Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
service until they disappear in the late 11th century, during the reign of
Alexios I KomnenosAlexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and the founder of the Komnenian dynasty...
.
Origins
During the civil wars of the late
TetrarchyThe term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire...
,
CaesarCaesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
Flavius Valerius SeverusFlavius Valerius Severus was a Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 307.Officer in the Roman army Severus was of humble birth, born in the Illyrian provinces around the middle of the third century AD...
, following the orders of
GaleriusGalerius Maximianus , formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311.-Early life:...
, attempted to disband the
Praetorian GuardThe Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. Before being appropriated for the use of the Emperors' personal guards, the title was used for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
but only managed to lead the rest of them in revolting and joining
MaxentiusMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius was Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Galerius, also an emperor.-Birth and early life:...
. When Constantine the Great, launching an invasion of Italy in 312, forced a final confrontation at the
Milvian BridgeThe Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October 312. Constantine won the battle and started on the path that led him to end the Tetrarchy and become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire...
, the Praetorian cohorts made up the most prominent element of
MaxentiusMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius was Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Galerius, also an emperor.-Birth and early life:...
' army. Later, in Rome, the victorious Constantine definitively disbanded the Praetorian Guard. Although there is no direct evidence that Constantine established the
Scholae Palatinae, 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
DiocletianGaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from 20 November 284 to 1 May 305. Born to a Dalmatian family of low status, he rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the emperor Carus...
.
The Late Roman scholae
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. Each
schola was formed into an elite cavalry regiment of around 500 troops. Many scholarians were recruited from among Germanic tribes. In the West, these were
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
and
AlamanniThe Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Main river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211–17 and claimed thereby to be their...
, while in the East,
GothsThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
were employed. In the East, under the impact of anti-Gothic policies, from the mid-5th century they were largely replaced with
ArmeniansThe Armenians are a nation and ethnic group which originated in the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland. It is estimated that there are 8 million Armenians around the world. There is a large concentration of Armenians in the Caucasus, especially in Armenia, and there is a significant presence in...
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.
Each
schola was commanded by a
tribunus who ranked as a
comesComes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."-In the...
of the first class, and who were discharged with a rank equal to that of a provincial
duxDux is Latin for leader and later for Duke.During the Roman Republic, dux could refer to anyone who commanded troops, including foreign leaders, but was not a formal military rank...
. The
tribunus had a number of senior officers called
domestici or
protectores directly under him. 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 officiorumThe magister officiorum was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire...
. In the
Notitia DignitatumThe Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
of the late 4th century, seven
scholae are listed for the Eastern Empire and five for the
Western halfThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
. In Justinian's time, but also possibly in earlier times, the
scholae were billeted in the wider neighbourhood of Constantinople, in the towns of
BithyniaBithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
and
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
, serving in the palace by rotation.
As befitted their guards status, the
scholares 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. 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
ExcubitorsThe Excubitors were the imperial guards of the early Byzantine emperors, and later one of the elite tagmatic units.- History :...
, founded by Emperor Leo, while in the West, they were permanently disbanded by
Theodoric the GreatTheodoric the Great , was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Roman Empire...
. Under
ZenoFlavius Zeno, original name Tarasicodissa or Trascalissaeus, Byzantine Emperor was one of the more prominent of the early Byzantine Emperors. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
, 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.
Forty
scholares, named
candidati for their bright white tunics, were selected to form the Emperor's personal bodyguard, 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 in Persia.
In the Western Empire (note that the Western part of the Notitia refers to the 420s)
- Scola scutariorum prima
- Scola scutariorum secunda
- Scola armaturarum seniorum
- Scola gentilium seniorum
- Scola scutatorium tertia
In the Eastern Empire (note that the Eastern part of the Notitia refers to the 390s)
- Scola scutariorum prima
- Scola scutariorum secunda
- Scola gentilium seniorum
- Scola scutariorum sagittariorum, a unit of horse archers.
- Scola scutariorum clibanariorum, a unit of clibanarii
The Clibanarii or Klibanophoroi were a Sassanid Persian, late Roman and Byzantine military unit of heavy armored horsemen. Similar to the cataphracti, the horsemen themselves and their horses were fully armoured...
.
- 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 ValensFlavius Julius Valens was Roman Emperor , after he was given the Eastern part of the empire by his brother Valentinian I...
and Valentinian IFlavius Valentinianus, known in English as Valentinian I, was Roman Emperor from 364 until his death. Valentinian is often referred to as the "last great western emperor"...
. The seniores are the "senior" Western units, while iuniores their "junior" Eastern counterparts.
Notable scholares
- Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Saints Sergius and Bacchus , were third century Roman soldiers who are commemorated as martyrs by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches...
were officers in Emperor MaximianMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn...
's schola gentilium.
- Saint Martin of Tours, an officer in the scholae of Caesar Julian
Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian, Julian the Apostate or Julian the Philosopher , was Roman Emperor , last of the Constantinian dynasty...
.
- Mallobaudes
Mallobaudes was a 4th-century Frankish king, who also held the Roman title of comes domesticorum.In 354 he was a tribunus armaturarum in the Roman army in Gaul, where he served under Silvanus who usurped power in 355. Malobaudes tried unsuccessfully to intervene on his behalf...
, a Frankish king, tribunus armaturarum, later magister militumMagister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
.
- Claudius Silvanus
Claudius Silvanus was a Roman general of Frankish descent, usurper in Gaul against Emperor Constantius II for 28 days in 355.- Origin and career :...
, a Frankish tribune and later usurper.
- Bacurius, prince of Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
, tribunus sagittariorum at the Battle of AdrianopleThe Battle of Adrianople , sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern...
.
- Cassio, tribunus scutariorum (likely of the elite first schola) at the Battle of Adrianople
The Battle of Adrianople , sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern...
.
- Justinian I
Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ; AD 483 – 13 or 14 November 565, known in English as Justinian I or Justinian the Great, was the second member of the Justinian Dynasty and Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 until his death...
served as a candidatus in 518, at the time of the death of Emperor AnastasiusFlavius Anastasius or Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 11 April 491 until his death. He was born at Dyrrhachium no later than 430/431, the son of Pompeius, a nobleman of Dyrrachium, and his anonymous wife...
and the accession of his uncle Justin IFlavius Iustinus , known in English as Justin I, was a Byzantine Emperor , who rose through the ranks of the Byzantine army and ultimately became its emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost seventy-years-old at the time of accession...
.
The scholae as one of the tagmata
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 VConstantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
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. 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.
The exact size of the
tagmata is a subject of debate. Estimates range from 1,000 to 4,000 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 tōn scholōn , first attested in 767. 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 histories, he holds the rank of
patrikios, and is considered as one of the senior-most generals, surpassed only by the
strategosStrategos, plural strategoi is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of the
Anatolic ThemeThe Anatolic Theme , more properly the Theme of the Anatolics was a Byzantine theme in central Asia Minor...
. By the 10th century, he had risen to be was the senior officer of the entire army, effectively a commander-in-chief under the Emperor. In ca. 959, the post and the unit itself were divided into two separate commands, one for the East (
domestikos [tōn scholōn tēs] anatolēs) and one for the West (
domestikos [tōn scholōn tēs] dysēs).
The
domestikosDomestikos , in English sometimes [the] Domestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire.- Military usage :...
was assisted by two officers called
topotērētēs (τοποτηρητής, lit. "placeholder", "lieutenant"), who each commanded half of the unit, a
chartoulariosThe chartoularios or chartularius , anglicized as chartulary, was a late Roman and Byzantine administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal duties, either as a subaltern official of a department or province or at the head of various independent bureaux.- History :The title...
(χαρτουλάριος, "secretary") and the
proexēmos or
proximos (head messenger). The
tagma was further divided into smaller units (
banda, sing.
bandon) commanded by a
komēs . In the late 10th century, there were 30 such
banda, of unknown size. Each
komēs commanded 5
domestikoi, the equivalent of regular army
kentarchoi ("
centurion-Military:* Centurion, professional officer of the Roman army* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy-Transport:* Centurion Engines, German series of aircraft engines...
s"). 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
protectoresProtector Augusti Nostri was a title given to individual officers of the Roman Army. The term first appears in the joint-reign of Valerian and Gallienus . The term Protector Divini Lateris also appears around this time. L...
),
eutychophoroi ' onMouseout='HidePop("6998")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Fortuna">Fortune
Fortuna can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck Geographical*19 Fortuna, asteroid*Fortuna, California, town located on the north coast of California...
and
VictoryVictoria may refer to:* Victoria of the United Kingdom, known as Queen Victoria* Victoria , word origin and list of people* Victoria , the state* Victoria, British Columbia , provincial capital...
),
skēptrophoroi ("bearers of sceptres", i.e. staves with images on top) and
axiōmatikoi ("officers").
The
kandidatoi are still mentioned in the 10th-century work
De CeremoniisDe Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a work of compilation produced for the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus , and partially revised or updated under Nikephoros II Phokas , perhaps under the direction of Basil, the imperial...
, 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.
Sources
- 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)
- 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)