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For most of their history, they were the loyal protectors of the leader of the Roman World. The Guards were also an important military unit who played a significant role in maintaining peace and security in Rome and throughout Italy. The guards also played a meaningful role in the administration and policing of the capital of the Empire and Italy.

The Praetorian Guards were an elite unit in the Imperial Army, and their role was to protect the person of the Emperor, a task they shared with the Imperial German bodyguard.<ref>Bingham, Sandra. The Praetorian Guard: A History of Rome's Elite Special Forces (London, IB Tauris, 2013), p 118</ref> They were the only army unit allowed to bear arms in Rome, but out of respect to Republican sensibilities, they never wore armor in the city’s precincts. The Guards were divided into some cohorts, that numbered several hundred men typically. The various cohorts were composed of infantry and cavalry. For the first few centuries, they were mainly recruited from central Italy, and many were able to secure admission because of family or political connections.<ref>Bingham, p 119</ref>

Over time more and more experienced legionnaires joined the Guards. The Praetorians were organized under a Praetorian Prefect, who became a vital military and political figure. The Prefect was eventually to command not only the guard but the urban militia of Rome. The individual cohorts were under the command of a tribune. Those who served in the Guards had better pay, conditions and a shorter service than regular legionnaires. They were usually members of the Equestrian Order, which meant that they were from a high social class until at least 195 A.D when Septimius Severus reformed the Guard.<ref> Bingham, p 201</ref> The Guards were seen as a great way to advance the career of the ambitious and its members had a great deal of social prestige.

[[File: Praetorian Guard Three.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Battle of the Milvian Bridge]]

During the decline of the Roman Republic, the various generals who competed for power and influence often created their bodyguard. The name Praetorian- comes from the Latin, for General’s tent. Julius Caesar was one of the first to use a unit of handpicked soldiers for his protection. His heir, Octavian (later Augustus) and his bitter rival Mark Anthony both had personal bodyguards. When Augustus became the sole ruler of Rome and its Empire, he created three cohorts of guards, that became known as the Praetorian Guard. One was stationed in Rome to protect the Emperor, along with his German bodyguard and two were located throughout Italy to maintain order.

By 230 AD the Empire fell into an existential crisis, this is the period known as the ‘Third Century Crisis.’<ref>Bingham, p. 278</ref> This was a period when a series of solder-emperors fought for the Empire, and the Roman World fell into anarchy and economic decline. During this time a Praetorian Prefect, Macrinus, a Thracian giant, became Emperor for a year, before being killed.<ref>Gibbon, Edward, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, Penguin Books, 1985), p 245</ref> A series of energetic generals ended the anarchy, and from Diocletian onwards, Rome was no longer the center of the Roman World. He used his soldiers as his bodyguards, and the Praetorians were side-lined. In 303 A.D, when Constantine invaded Italy, the Praetorians backed his rival. At the Battle of Milvian Bridge, the Guards were almost annihilated. The surviving guardsmen were sent to the frontiers of the Imperial territory, and their barracks was demolished on the orders of Constantine.

[[File: Praetorian Guard two.jpg|200px|thumb|left| A Praetorian soldier from the 2nd century AD]]

The Praetorian Guards were usually the only significant military unit in Rome if not Italy. There was an urban militia (vigiles), and the German bodyguard of the Emperor, however, the Guards were by far the most formidable military force in the capital. This and their unique access to the Emperor meant that they were in a position to intervene in Imperial affairs. The Emperor came to depend on the Guard for his safety, and over time the Imperial bodyguard began to become ‘conscious of their power.’<ref>Bingham, p. 167</ref> The ruler of the Roman World was at their mercy if they acted in unison and decisively. They Guards were instrumental in the deposition of countless Emperors the exact number is unknown.