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 or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, including the regular armed forces, and maintain special rights, privileges and traditions.

Praetorian Guardsmen featured in a marble relief from the Arch of Claudius (51/52 AD)

Because the head of state often wishes to be protected by the best soldiers available, their numbers and organisation may be expanded to carry out additional tasks. Napoleon's Imperial Guard is an example of this.

In heterogeneous polities reliant on a greater degree of coercion to maintain central authority the political reliability and loyalty of the guard is the most important factor in their recruitment. In such cases the ranks of the guard may be filled with on the one hand Royal kinsman and clansman with a stake in the survival of the ruling family, and on the other with members socially and culturally divorced from the general population and therefore reliant on Imperial patronage for their survival, for example the Varangian Guards (recruiting solely foreigners), and the Janissaries (Christian children taken as slaves from childhood, to serve the Sultan).

In the post-colonial period, the term has been used colloquially and derisively to describe the staff of a person, usually a politician or corporate executive officer, that acts to prevent direct communication with the person.

List of imperial guards
  • The commander of the Imperial Guard of Delhi
  • Household Troops: Janissaries of Sultan Murad IV

Fiction

The term has been used in fiction:

  • Imperial Guard, a group of alien warriors in the Marvel Comics universe that are charged with the duty of serving the Shi'ar Empire.
  • Emperor's Royal Guard, Emperor Palpatine's personal protectors in the Star Wars universe.
  • The Imperial Guard, the army of the Imperium in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniature wargame.
  • The Crimson Brigade, the Empire of Izmir's elite fighting unit in the 2000 film titled: "Dungeons & Dragons".
  • The Sardaukar of the Padishah Emperor and the Fremen Fedaykin of Paul Muad'dib, plus their successors the Fish Speakers both serve as imperial guards in Frank Herbert's Dune saga.
  • The Imperial Guard of the planet Andor as seen on the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise

See also

References
  1. p. 1241 "A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)" By Rafe de Crespigny
  2. p. 150, 225, 228 "Fire over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD" By Rafe de Crespigny
  3. p. 1241 "A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)" By Rafe de Crespigny
  4. p. 150, 225 "Fire over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD" By Rafe de Crespigny
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