How many guys in the Guard?
Mar. 10th, 2018 01:20 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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queensthiefI've always wondered how many soliders were in the Queen's palace guard and what number Eugenides wanted to cut their ranks down to. I must've forgotten how to count, because the book does say!
"...one of more than a thousand men standing in orderly blocks across the parade ground, waiting for their captain."
- The King of Attolia (p. 27)
One thousand men! That's at least ten centuries of soliders devoted to just guarding the palace. Being curious if this was considered an excessive number in RL vs. the QT universe, I looked up the cohort numbers for the Praetorian Guard, which is probably the closest RL equivilant to the Queen's Own. The Praetorians were elite soliders tasked with protecting the Roman emperor.
"Thus, he allowed only nine cohorts to be formed, each originally consisting of 500 men. He then increased them to 1,000 men each, but allowed three units to be kept on duty at any given time in the capital." - Wiki
Nine cohorts! That's a maximum of nine thousand men with at least fifteen hundred serving in the capital at once. (Oh, and I did notice that MWT referenced this by having only the first three centuries of the Guard serving within the inner palace.) However, the important lesson to learn about the Praetorian is this.
"The Praetorians’ may have been tasked with protecting the Roman Emperor, but they were also the single greatest threat to his life. The unit was a major player in the webs of deceit that characterized imperial Rome, and they were willing to slaughter and install new emperors when tempted by promises of money or power." - History Stories
The Preatorians were even directly responsible for the assassination of serveral Roman emperors and were very corrupt.
"...you would entrust that Guard ten years, fifteen years, thirty years from now, with the power of kingmakers. Sooner or later the Guard’s loyalty will be bought and sold like other men’s, and the crown will go to the highest bidder."
"Thus, he allowed only nine cohorts to be formed, each originally consisting of 500 men. He then increased them to 1,000 men each, but allowed three units to be kept on duty at any given time in the capital." - Wiki
Nine cohorts! That's a maximum of nine thousand men with at least fifteen hundred serving in the capital at once. (Oh, and I did notice that MWT referenced this by having only the first three centuries of the Guard serving within the inner palace.) However, the important lesson to learn about the Praetorian is this.
"The Praetorians’ may have been tasked with protecting the Roman Emperor, but they were also the single greatest threat to his life. The unit was a major player in the webs of deceit that characterized imperial Rome, and they were willing to slaughter and install new emperors when tempted by promises of money or power." - History Stories
The Preatorians were even directly responsible for the assassination of serveral Roman emperors and were very corrupt.
"...you would entrust that Guard ten years, fifteen years, thirty years from now, with the power of kingmakers. Sooner or later the Guard’s loyalty will be bought and sold like other men’s, and the crown will go to the highest bidder."
-The King of Attolia (p. 384)
All of which means, Gen is exactly right! The monarch's personal guard being too powerful and numerous creates massive civil unrest.
Also, check out Lucius Aelius Sejanus. He kinda reminds me of someone...?
I remembered that Horrible Histories did a skit on the Preatorian being very bad at protecting the emperor. Check it out if you need a good laugh.
Skip to 9:00.
All of which means, Gen is exactly right! The monarch's personal guard being too powerful and numerous creates massive civil unrest.
Also, check out Lucius Aelius Sejanus. He kinda reminds me of someone...?
I remembered that Horrible Histories did a skit on the Preatorian being very bad at protecting the emperor. Check it out if you need a good laugh.
Skip to 9:00.
