The Jovians () and Herculians (Latin: ''Herculiani'') were the senior palatine

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 and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...

units under the rule of Roman Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

(r. 284–305). They continued in existence thereafter as senior units in the field armies of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

History

The name originated in the equation of the two co-emperors

and

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

with the Roman gods

Jove Jupiter ( or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus "sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( nom. and gen. ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religion and mytholog ...

and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. The old-established

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

was based at the ''

Castra Praetoria Castra Praetoria were the ancient barracks (''castra'') of the Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome. History According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the barracks were built in 23 AD by Sejanus, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the praetorian prefect servi ...

'' in Rome, and had frequently proved disloyal, making and deposing emperors and even on one occasion in 193 putting the Imperial throne up for auction to the highest bidder (cf:

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dalmatia (Roman province) ...

). Thus Diocletian, who ruled from

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; , ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletian who rul ...

, promoted two faithful legions from the Illyricum ( Legio V ''Iovia'' and VI ''Herculia''), the area he was also descended from, to be the personal protectors of the Roman Emperors.Gibbon, Edward. ''The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire''
Vol 1 Chapter XIII New Bodies of Guards, Jovians and Herculians
' On their promotion, the two old legions were renamed ''Ioviani'' and ''Herculiani''. The Praetorian Guard continued to exist until its abolishment by

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

in ca. 312, and replaced as the imperial guard by the ''

Scholae Palatinae The ''Scholae Palatinae'' (; ) were an elite military imperial guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the '' equites singulares Augusti'', the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard. The ''Scho ...

''. The two legions however continued to be counted among the senior units of the army, and after its division between

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, they too were divided. In the late 4th century document ''

Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...

'', they are listed, for the West (bearing the title ''seniores''), as directly under the command of the ''magister peditum'', and for the East (the ''iuniores'', junior to their counterparts in the West), as being under the command of the ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

praesentalis''.
Notitia Dignitatum
Pars Orientalis'', V In 398, the Jovians and Herculians of the West were part of the small body that invaded

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and suppressed the

Gildonic revolt The Gildonic War () was a rebellion in the year 398 led by ''Comes'' Gildo against Roman emperor Honorius. The revolt was subdued by Stilicho, the ''magister militum'' of the Western Roman Empire. Background Revolt of Firmus Gildo was a Ber ...

References

{{reflist Legiones palatinae Infantry units and formations of ancient Rome Military units and formations of the Byzantine Empire 284 establishments Military units and formations established in the 3rd century

History

See also

References