RomanArmyTalk

I know of the names of the specific units that made up the royal guards in the Hellenistic period, but was there a general name for the entire group of infantry and cavalry?

The terminology varied widely in the Hellenistic world, but περὶ τὴν αὐλήν, "of the court" was sometimes used as a signifier of what we might call a royal guard, although off the top of my head Polybius only uses it for cavalry. The most routinely privileged units in the Hellenistic world were the agema, a subset of both peltasts and cavalry who also enjoyed a special connection with the king.

(07-27-2019, 12:57 AM)Michael J. Taylor Wrote: [ -> ]The terminology varied widely in the Hellenistic world, but περὶ τὴν αὐλήν, "of the court" was sometimes used as a signifier of what we might call a royal guard, although off the top of my head Polybius only uses it for cavalry. The most routinely privileged units in the Hellenistic world were the agema, a subset of both peltasts and cavalry who also enjoyed a special connection with the king.

While the agema could vary in size and composition, it's a"vanguard" unit, not a general term, in contrast with the use of praetorian in the republican and imperial eras. Would hetairoi be apt, as it could mean anything from a select few to a formation of infantry and cavalry, IIRC? The Byzantines hetaireia was derived from hetairoi, IIRC.