Scholae Palatinae
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| This article is part of the series on the military of the Byzantine Empire, 330–1453 AD | |
| Structural history | |
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| Byzantine army: East Roman army, Middle Byzantine army (themes • tagmata • Hetaireia), Komnenian-era army (pronoia), Palaiologan-era army (allagia) • Varangian Guard • Generals (Magister militum • Domestic of the Schools • Grand Domestic • Stratopedarches • Protostrator) | |
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| Campaign history | |
| Lists of wars, revolts and civil wars, and battles | |
| Strategy and tactics | |
| Tactics • Siege warfare • Military manuals • Fortifications (Walls of Constantinople) | |
The Scholae Palatinae (literally "Palatine Schools", in Greek: Σχολαί, Scholai) were an elite military 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 Scholae survived in Roman and later Byzantine service until they disappeared in the late 11th century, during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos.
During the civil wars of the late Tetrarchy, Caesar Flavius Valerius Severus, following the orders of Galerius (reigned 305–311), attempted to disband the Praetorian Guard but only managed to lead the rest of them in revolting and joining Maxentius. When Constantine the Great (r. 306–337), launching an invasion of Italy in 312, forced a final confrontation at the Milvian Bridge, the Praetorian cohorts made up the most prominent element of Maxentius' army. Later, in Rome, the victorious Constantine definitively disbanded the Praetorian Guard. Although there is no direct evidence that Constantine established the Scholae Palatinae at the same time, the lack of a bodyguard unit would have become immediately apparent, and he is commonly regarded as their founder. Nevertheless, some units, such as the schola gentilium ("school of tribesmen") are attested much earlier than 312, and may have their origins in the reign of Diocletian (r. 284–305).
The term "schola" was commonly used in the early 4th century to refer to organized corps of the imperial retinue, both civil and military, and derives from the fact that they occupied specific rooms or chambers in the palace. Each schola was formed into an elite cavalry regiment of around 500 troops. Many scholarians (Latin: scholares, Greek: σχολάριοι, scholarioi) were recruited from among Germanic tribes. In the West, these were Franks and Alamanni, while in the East, Goths were employed. In the East, under the impact of anti-Gothic policies, from the mid-5th century they were largely replaced with Armenians and Isaurians. However, evidence of the scholarians mentioned in primary sources indicates that the presence of native Romans in the scholae was not negligible. Of the recorded and named scholarians in the fourth century, ten are definitely Roman, forty one probably Roman; whilst only five are definitely barbarian and eleven probably barbarian.
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