The Numerus Batavorum, also called the cohors Germanorum,Suetonius, ''Galba'

Germani corporis custodes, Germani corpore custodes, Imperial German Bodyguard or Germanic bodyguard, was a personal, imperial

guards unit Guards units () were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in wartime service ...

for the Roman emperors of the

Julio-Claudian dynasty The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire, from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emper ...

(30 BC – AD 68) composed of Germanic soldiers. Although the Praetorians may be considered the Roman emperor's main bodyguard, the Germanic bodyguards were a unit of more personal guards recruited from distant parts of the Empire, so they had no political or personal connections with Rome or the provinces. From ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; ), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' (), is Julius Caesar's first-hand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine yea ...

'', it is known that

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

also had a Germanic bodyguard.

Overview

The members of the Numerus Batavorum were recruited from the Germanic tribes resident in, or on the borders of, the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...

, with most recruits drawn from the Batavi but also from neighbouring tribes of the

Rhine delta The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

region, including the

Frisii The Frisii were an ancient tribe, who were neighbours of the Roman empire in the low-lying coastal region between the Rhine and the Ems (river), Ems rivers, in what what is now the northern Netherlands. They are not mentioned in Roman records af ...

Baetasii The Baetasii (or Betasii) were a Germanic tribal grouping within the Roman province of Germania Inferior (which later became Germania Secunda). Their exact location is still unknown, although two proposals are, first, that it might be the source o ...

and

Ubii 350px, The Ubii around AD 30 The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river. They were ...

. Little is known about their organization; the 500 bodyguards were formed up in five ''

centuries A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A ...

'', each century commanded by a

centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

. From inscriptions it is known that there existed, as in all Roman cavalry units, the officer rank of decurion. The exact size of the unit, which was at least partially mounted, is also unknown, but is described in ancient sources as a

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: Cohort Sociological * Cohort (military unit), the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum Scientific * Cohort ...

, which in this period normally implied a strength of 500 men or less, similar to a ''

numerus Numerus (Latin: "number") may refer to one of the following *Grammatical number * Numerus, a military unit of the Roman army ;See also: *Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the u ...

'', whose size could vary. Under the Emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

, the Bodyguard may have consisted of 500 to 1,000 men. The Germanic Cohort was valued as loyal and reliable. Emperors like

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

trusted the Germani especially because they were not of Roman origin. The guard was disbanded briefly after the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

, and was finally dissolved by

Galba Galba ( ; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for 7 months from 8 June AD 68 to 15 January 69. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne follow ...

in 68 because of its loyalty to Nero (ruled 54–68), whom he had overthrown. The decision caused deep offense to the Batavi, and contributed to the outbreak of the

Revolt of the Batavi The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi, a small but militarily powerful Germanic tribe that inhab ...

in the following year. Their indirect successors were the ''

Equites singulares Augusti The ''equites singulares Augusti'' or ''equites singulares Imperatoris'' (lit: "personal cavalry of the emperor" i.e. imperial horseguards) were the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard during the Principate period of imperial Rome. Based in Rome, ...

'' which were, likewise, mainly recruited from the Germani. They were apparently so similar to the Julio-Claudians' earlier Germanic Bodyguard that they were given the same nickname, the "Batavi".Fuhrmann, Christopher J. (2012)
''Policing the Roman Empire: Soldiers, Administration, and Public Order''
OUP, New York, pp 128/129.

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

, a

client king A client state in the context of international relations is a state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, associated state ...

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

, had a Germanic bodyguard modeled upon that of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

Die germanische Leibgarde der julisch-claudischen Kaiser ("The Germanic Bodyguard of the Julio-Claudian Emperors")
at kriegsreisende.de. Roman auxiliaries Early Germanic warfare Military units and formations of ancient Rome Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC

Overview

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links