Julian\'s guard

[Robert Vermaat]

I received an interesting question from an illustrator (Ken 'Apostata' Broeders) the other day, to which I did not know the answer. He wondered whether Julian's personal guard would have had a shield design (which they probably did) bearing the Sun symbol.
I could not guess. We know that Emperors had guards bearing the Chi-Rho on their shields (Constantius II, Justinian), but if Julian had a typically pagan symbol to couter that Christian one (and which one) I don't know.

Ideas, anyone?

[Caballo]

And also the Chi Rho is shown on Arcadius' Column (begun in 401, finished c 421 AD) as well as part of his guard.


[attachment=149]ArcadiusColumn.jpg[/attachment]



The only depiction of a shield I know from Julian is this gold solidus.



[attachment=150]b7166.jpg[/attachment]


An alternative emblem is the Apis bull from Egyptian mythology, also shown on his coins, so presumably of religious importance to him?


[attachment=151]b2261.jpg[/attachment]

[markhebb]

Hey,

This is a very interesting question. Have you looked at David Woods article: Julian, Arbogastes and the signa of the iovani and herculani? This relates to whether the chi-rho was carried on certain standards during Julian's reign but may be useful to you.

Please PM me if you need a copy....

[Graham Sumner]

Hi

On the topic of Julian's guards the following mention of white clothing might also be of interest.

Ammianus Marcellinus XXV 3. 6.

quos cum Iulianus cavendi inmemor diffluxisse trepidos, elatis vociferando manibus aperte demonstrans, irasque sequentium excitans, audenter effunderet semet in pugnam, clamabant hinc inde candidati, quos disiecerat terror, ut fugientium molem tamquam ruinam male conpositi culminis declinaret, et — incertum unde — subita equestris hasta, cute brachii eius praestricta, costis perfossis haesit in ima iecoris fibra.

Also worth looking for are two articles by M.P. Speidel:
'Late Roman Military Decorations, 1. Neck and Wrist bands',
'Late Roman Military Decorations, 2. Gold-embroidered capes and tunics,

Both published in the journal Ant Tard 4 & 5, 1996-97.

Graham.

[Paullus Scipio]

'Candidati' originally referred to those seeking Public Office who dressed in 'Toga Candida', whitened garments to indicate their position ( and from which is derived our word 'Candidate' for those seeking office).
Constantine the Great founded the 'Scholae Palatinae' (literally "Palatine Schools", in Greek: Σχολαὶ) as a replacement for the 'equites singulares Augusti', the cavalry Guard of the Praetorians . The 'Scholae' survived in Roman and later Byzantine service.

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.

Forty 'scholares' were called 'candidati', and were selected to form the Emperor's personal bodyguard, possibly for their bright white tunics, but possibly because being close to the Emperor, they were candidates for High Positions following service as an intimate of the Emperor, or even both. In the 4th century they accompanied the Emperors on campaign, as for example Julian in Persia, in the passage of Ammianus referred to by Graham above, which refers to Julian, careless of his own safety while rallying his troops. His Guards (candidati) were calling out to him to get clear of the throng. It is at this point that he is struck in the back by a 'cavalryman's lance/equestris hasta', a wound which proved mortal.

Some evidence for the 'white clothing' hypothesis may be provided by the attached mosaic of Justinian and his Guards though their accoutrements suggest that the white-robed attendants are priests. By his reign the title was purely an honorific, which Justinian cynically sold to 'upwardly mobile' young noblemen. There was panic on one occasion when it was proposed to actually send Justinian's 'candidati' on campaign......

[markhebb]

I may be wrong on this but don't we have a refernce in the SHA to candidati in the reign of Gallienus? I also recall a rogue reference to candidati from the reign of Gordian III.....

[ValentinianVictrix]

In relation to Julian and shield symbols, I do not feel there would have been a radical change as most of the troops under Julian's command were nominally Christian and it may well have led to a rebellion within the army if he had attempted a whole scale conversion to pagan symbology.

From the base of the column of Arcadius you would have noted that there were various shield motif's available to the guards, and Julian appeared to be fairly tolerant of the Christians, so I would have thought him unlikely to have upset the status quo upto the point where he died. Had he survived the Sasanid expedition then things might have been different.

An interesting aside is that the Sasanids depicted Julian as a blazing lion in now lost paintings and rock reliefs.

The question about canditi is also interesting as a number of historians believe Ammianus himself was a canditi. Many late Roman paintings depict officers wearing white tunics and trousers.

[Nathan Ross]

I may be wrong on this but don't we have a refernce in the SHA to candidati in the reign of Gallienus?

In the description of the triumph of Gallienus there are soldiers dressed in white - 'albato milite' (H.A. Gallienus 8.1) - but this is alba (ordinary white) not candida (bright white). There is no reference to their being particular bodyguard troops.

Tacitus, however, has Vitellius' officers marching into Rome in 'candida veste' (Histories 2.89).

Not sure about Gordian...

a number of historians believe Ammianus himself was a canditi

Really? I knew he was supposedly a member of the corps of protectores - or are you referring to the same thing?

- Nathan

[Robert Vermaat]

Thank you gentlemen! Some very interesting suggestions.

Hi Paul,

An alternative emblem is the Apis bull from Egyptian mythology, also shown on his coins, so presumably of religious importance to him?

Thanks for that suggestion, that bull may be something the author can work with.

Hi Mark,

Have you looked at David Woods article: Julian, Arbogastes and the signa of the iovani and herculani? This relates to whether the chi-rho was carried on certain standards during Julian's reign but may be useful to you.
Please PM me if you need a copy....

Thanks for the offer! I have it and I'll have a look at it.

Hi Graham,

On the topic of Julian's guards the following mention of white clothing might also be of interest.

Ammianus Marcellinus XXV 3. 6.

quos cum Iulianus cavendi inmemor diffluxisse trepidos, elatis vociferando manibus aperte demonstrans, irasque sequentium excitans, audenter effunderet semet in pugnam, clamabant hinc inde candidati, quos disiecerat terror, ut fugientium molem tamquam ruinam male conpositi culminis declinaret, et — incertum unde — subita equestris hasta, cute brachii eius praestricta, costis perfossis haesit in ima iecoris fibra.

Or, in English:
Julianus, careless of his own safety, shouting and raising his hands tried to make it clear to his men that the enemy had fled in disorder, and, to rouse them to a still more furious pursuit, rushed boldly into the fight. His guards, who had scattered in their alarm, were crying to him from all sides to get clear of the mass of fugitives, as dangerous as the fall of a badly built roof, when suddenly — no one knows whence — a cavalryman's spear grazed the skin of his arm, pierced his ribs, and lodged in the lower lobe of his liver.

Also worth looking for are two articles by M.P. Speidel:
'Late Roman Military Decorations, 1. Neck and Wrist bands',
'Late Roman Military Decorations, 2. Gold-embroidered capes and tunics,
Both published in the journal Ant Tard 4 & 5, 1996-97.

Are these large articles, or could I perhaps get a copy?

Hi Paul,

Forty 'scholares' were called 'candidati', and were selected to form the Emperor's personal bodyguard, possibly for their bright white tunics, but possibly because being close to the Emperor, they were candidates for High Positions following service as an intimate of the Emperor, or even both.

So we’re looking for the shield design of the candidati. The scholae seem to have had different shield patterns, so my guess would be that the guards with the chi-rho, represented nowhere in the Notitia Dignitatum, could indeed represent the personal bodyguard.

I think that, although Julian was fairly tolerant towards Christians, I doubt that he would have suffered their symbols on the scuta of his personal guard. It was not uncommon for the army to still carry non-Christian symbols around, as can be seen with the revolt of Arbogast (troops bearing depictions of Hercules or Jupiter) a few decades later.

Some evidence for the 'white clothing' hypothesis may be provided by the attached mosaic of Justinian and his Guards though their accoutrements suggest that the white-robed attendants are priests. By his reign the title was purely an honorific, which Justinian cynically sold to 'upwardly mobile' young noblemen. There was panic on one occasion when it was proposed to actually send Justinian's 'candidati' on campaign......

The scholae had been replaced by the excubitores by the time of Leo I, although they continued indeed into at least the later 6th century.
As you say, sometimes they were frightened by a call to arms, but this had a financial background: in order to spare the exchequer the cost of their pay, from time to time they were threatened to accompany real armies into battle. To stay at home the scholae then agreed to be fined several months’ pay…