Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, including the regular armed forces, and maintain special rights, privileges and traditions.
Because the head of state often wishes to be protected by the best soldiers available, their numbers and organisation may be expanded to carry out additional tasks. Napoleon's Imperial Guard is an example of this. Some empires maintained guard units, such as the British Empire, which still exist.
In the post-colonial period, the term has been used colloquially and derisively to describe the staff of a person, usually a politician or corporate executive officer, that acts to prevent direct communication with the person.
List of Imperial Guards
- Somatophylakes, bodyguards of Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empires.
- Persian Immortals aka Immortal Guards:
- Praetorian Guard of the Roman Empire, from around 27 B.C. until 312 A.D.
- Jovians and Herculians, elite Guards legions during the Tetrarchy
- Scholae Palatinae, late Roman Imperial Guards in both Western and Eastern Empires. Established in ca. 312, in the West until the 490s, in Byzantine service until ca. 1080.
- The Northern Army of the Han Dynasty was the standing professional army branch of the Han Empire, garrisoned around the capital. Several units from this army would be given the honor of guarding the emperor in the capitol.
- Spatharios, Byzantine Palace Guards since the Fall of the Western Empire (5th-8th century)
- Tagmata, elite Byzantine Guards units (8th century-11th century)
- Hetaireia, Byzantine mercenary guard composed of men from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. (9th-12th centuries)
- Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire
- Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire
- Imperial Guards (Tang Dynasty), formed initially as honour bodyguards of the emperor and garrison of the capital, and evolved to reflect the era's transition of reliance on professional soldiery over non-professional volunteers and conscripts.
- Imperial Guards Brigade of Manchu Banner soldiers, entrusted with guarding the person of the Emperor of China and the Forbidden City during the Qing dynasty
- Imperial Guard of Manchukuo
- Imperial Guard of Napoleon I and the First French Empire
- Imperial Guard (Napoleon III) of the Second French Empire
- Russian Imperial Guard, also known as the Leib Guard, of the Russian Emperor
- Gardekorps of the German Empire
- Imperial Guard of Japan
- Esho of the Oyo Empire
- Mino the Amazons of Dahomey
- Kebur Zabangna (Ethiopian empire)
- Emperor's Bowmen of the Guard (Ancient Korea)
- Kheshig of the Mongol Empire
- The Household Division of the United Kingdom
- Pontifical Swiss Guard, serving as bodyguards of the Pope and de facto military of Vatican City.
Fiction
The term has been used in fiction:
See also