Summary of Guy de la Bédoyère's Praetorian

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 After the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Octavian rose to power. He used military force to defeat the tyrannicides Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, and then eliminated his erstwhile allies, among them Mark Antony.

#2 The Roman Empire used the term cohors praetoria to describe a group of soldiers who were selected from the bravest. They were exempt from soldiers’ normal duties and received one and a half-time pay, but were not distinguished in battle.

#3 The term praetorian was applied to soldiers serving a governor on his staff, or specialist crack troops. It was not used to describe the governor’s personal staff, but rather the garrison of Epiphanea in Cilicia.

#4 The term praetorian cohort was well established by 44 BC, and it was used to describe the bodyguard that Octavian created for himself. It was made up of Caesar’s veterans who were settled in Campania.