The Praetorian Guard: Rise to Power

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to I, Claudius, today the Cohortēs praetōriae are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome. It was their job to protect the Roman Emperor and his household, a task for which they hold a somewhat ‘chequered’ record (especially when we focus in on the Praetorian Prefects). But what do we know about this unit’s origins? How did this powerful force become protectors of the Emperor and his household? What other functions did they serve? And how did they differ from the standard Roman legions in their structure?

To talk through the rise of the Praetorian Guard, with a specific focus on the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, Tristan caught up with historian Lindsay Powell at Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex. Lindsay is the author of several books about the Early Roman Imperial Period. His latest book, Bar Kokhba: The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome, is out now.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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This episode first aired in October 2021.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like the ancient ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit.
0:08.1	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabatans, and enjoy a new release every week.
0:19.3	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe.
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0:55.3	Downgrade now. They're one of the most recognizable military units of ancient history.
1:16.1	The infamous bodyguards of Roman emperors, famous from epic movies such as Gladiator.
1:22.6	The Praetorian Guard.
1:25.4	But these Praetorians were much more than just imperial bodyguards.
1:30.0	Their duties stretched from policing to fighting on the battlefield. And it's the story of their
1:35.1	rise that we're going to explore today.
1:39.7	It's The Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host.
1:45.1	Our guest is Lindsay Powell, an author of many books on ancient Rome and an expert on this
1:51.2	transition period from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, a period that features larger
1:56.9	than life figures like Julius Caesar, Augustus, Cleopatra, Tiberius, Mark Anthony,
2:03.2	but also the rise of the Praetorian Guard and how it came to be the unit associated with
2:09.4	emperors. We're going to explore the Guard's origins, its structure, duties and key figures
2:16.2	that rose to prominence within this unit,
	...

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