Praetorians, Praetorians Cohort (Praetoriani, Praetoriae Cohortes) was the Emperor’s side guard in ancient Rome. This unit was created by Scipio Africanus in the period of the republic and in principle, it was to be the protection of the army commander and the governor of the province. During the siege of Numantia, the Scipio had a squad of 500 personal guards. This custom of using personal protection was later taken over by other high-ranking Roman commanders who were far from Rome. That unit type was called Cohors Praetoria and was close to the commander during the battle.
