The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

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The Roman A rmy
Guard Troops: The Equites Singulares
The foreru n n ers of the e q u i tes singulares Au g u s ti were the German hors em en
that Julius Caesar gathered together as a bodyguard while campaigning in Gaul
(Speidel, 1994). The Germani corporis custodi were taken over by Augustus, but
were disbanded after the Varan disaster of ad 9, when the German tribes wiped
out three legions. Under Tiberius the guard units reappeared. The name Germani
is attested by Josephus and Suetonius, but on gravestones the more usual
title is Caesaris Augusti corporis custodes. In the first century ad, the bodyguards
were not regular army units and could be com m a n ded by anyone wh om the
emperor thought fit. Caligula appointed a gladiator called Sabinus.
The e q u i tes singulares Au g u s ti were prob a bly establ i s h ed under the Flavi a n
em perors (Ca m pbell , 1994) or under Tra jan (Spei del , 1 9 9 4 ) . Tra ja n’s 1,000strong
guard unit, largely recruited from the Batavians of Lower Germany, was
housed in a camp in Rome on the Caelian hill near the modern Lateran palace,
until Severus doubled the size of the singulares and built a second camp next to
the old one for another 1,000 men . Both camps rem a i n ed in occ u p a ti on
throughout the history of the guards.
The singulares Augusti were commanded by a tribune and divided into turmae
under decurions like other cavalry units. They accompanied the emperors
on campaigns and provided cavalry support for the Praetorians, so the Praetorian
Prefects were ultimately responsible for them. Recruitment was predomin
a n t ly from cava l ry units of G ermania Su peri or, G ermania In feri or, Raeti a ,
Nori c u m , and Pa n n on i a , ro u gh ly equ a ting to modern Germ a ny, Au s tri a , a n d
Hu n ga ry. Th racians en l i s ted in ad 114 (I L S 2 1 8 2 ) , and a cava l ryman call ed
Ul p ius Ti tus was sel ected from an a l a in Pa n n onia in the late second cen tu ry
(C I L VI 3308=I L S 2 2 1 0 ) . In the early third cen tu ry, m ore Ba t avians were recruited
(ILS 2188).
In the provinces, the governors assembled bodyguards called equites singulares,
together with an infantry equivalent, pedites singulares, but these were not
permanent units. The men were seconded from the cavalry and infantry units
of the provincial garrison on temporary postings. They remained on the registers
of t h eir ori ginal units and received the same pay as before ; the hon or of
serving in the provincial guard units did not extend to a pay rise. The numbers
of s i n g u l a re s a t t ach ed to a govern or ’s en to u ra ge may have va ri ed . In a large
province there may have been units of 1,000 men, made up of 500 infantry and
500 cavalry, but this is only speculative. The commander of the singulares was
u su a lly listed as a pra epo s i tu s , wh i ch of ten signifies a tem pora ry or ex tra ord inary
command, in keeping with the temporary nature of the governor’s bodyguard.