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 An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, including the regular armed forces, and maintain special rights, privileges and traditions. 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 Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'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 The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...

(recruiting solely foreigners), and the

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

(Christian children taken as slaves from childhood, to serve the Muslim 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

Africa

Mehal Sefari Mehal Sefari (Amharic: መኻል ሰፋሪ) was the Ethiopian title for the specialized units of the imperial guard during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. The unit grew from Menelik's personal Guard, though oral histories link it to the elite ...

and Kebur Zabagna of the Ethiopian Empire

Americas

Imperial Guard of the Archers The Imperial Guard of the Archers (Portuguese: ''Guarda Imperial dos Archeiros'') was the ceremonial palace guard of the Brazilian Monarchs from the establishing of the Empire of Brazil in 1822 until the establishment of the republic in that coun ...

, Brazilian Imperial bodyguards during the Empire of Brazil

Asia

; Chinese * The 8000

Terracotta Warriors The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in ...

protecting the Emperor of China in the afterlife. * The Northern Army of the Han Dynasty was the standing professional army branch of the Han Empire, garrisoned around the capital. Several units from this army would be given the honor of guarding the emperor in the capitol. * The Feathered Forest (imperial guards unit composed of primarily or entirely cavalry)

lite Yulin Lite may refer to: Food and drugs *Diet food, food or beverage that is part of a weight loss program or diet *Diet soda, a version of soda pop *Low-alcohol beer, beer with little or no alcohol content **Miller Lite, a brand of light beer *Lights ...

of the

Army of the Han dynasty The military of the Han dynasty was the military apparatus of Imperial China, China from 202 BC to 220 AD, with a brief interregnum by the reign of Wang Mang and his Xin dynasty from 9 AD to 23 AD, followed by two years of civil war before the r ...

p. 1241 ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)'' by Rafe de Crespigny * The Rapid as Tigers (imperial guards unit)

lite Huben Lite may refer to: Food and drugs *Diet food, food or beverage that is part of a weight loss program or diet *Diet soda, a version of soda pop *Low-alcohol beer, beer with little or no alcohol content **Miller Lite, a brand of light beer *Lights ...

of the

pp. 150, 225 ''Fire over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD'' by Rafe de Crespigny * Imperial Guards (Tang dynasty), formed initially as honour bodyguards of the emperor and garrison of the capital, and evolved to reflect the era's transition of reliance on professional soldiery over non-professional volunteers and conscripts. *

Imperial Guards Brigade The Imperial Guards () of the Qing dynasty were a select detachment of Manchu and Mongol bannermen responsible for guarding the Forbidden City in Beijing, the emperor, and the emperor's family. The Imperial Guards were divided into three groups: ...

of Manchu Banner soldiers, entrusted with guarding the person of the Emperor of China and the Forbidden City during the Qing dynasty * Imperial Guard of Manchukuo ; Iranian * The 10,000-strong Immortals, an elite heavy infantry unit of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

from 550 BC–330 BC, functioning as both an Imperial Guard and a faction of the Achaemenid army * The Immortals, the Iranian Imperial Guard, existing in Iran in the 20th century under the

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

; Elsewhere * The Immortals, Nihang warriors or Sikh Akalis who have played the pivotal role in Sikh military history *

and

baltadji The ''baltacı'' or ''baltadji'' (plural ''baltacılar'', "axemen") corps was a class of palace guards in the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. History Also known by the equivalent Persian title ''tabardar'', the ''baltadji' ...

of the Ottoman Empire * Kheshig of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

* Imperial Guard (Japan) in service protection of the Emperor of Japan. Later part of the

Japanese Army The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

and since 1947, an integration of the National Police of Japan.

Europe

; French * Imperial Guard (Napoleon I) and Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard of the First French Empire. * Imperial Guard (Napoleon III) of the Second French Empire ; Germanic * The Guards Corps of the Prussian, and later of the Imperial German Army * The Austrian Imperial Guard during the Austrian Empire and then the

Austrian-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

. ; Roman and Byzantine * The Praetorian Guard of the Imperial Roman Army in Ancient Rome, from 27 BC – 312 AD. * The ''

Equites singulares Augusti The ''equites singulares Augusti'' (lit: "personal cavalry of the emperor" i.e. imperial horseguards) were the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard during the Principate period of imperial Rome. Based in Rome, they escorted the Roman emperor whenev ...

'', Imperial Horse Guards of the Roman Emperors * Jovians and Herculians, elite Guards legions during the Tetrarchy *

Scholae Palatinae The ''Scholae Palatinae'' (literally "Palatine Schools", in gr, Σχολαί, Scholai) were an elite military Imperial guard, guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the ''equites singulares Au ...

late Roman Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

Imperial Guards in both Western and Eastern Empires. Established in ca. 312, in the West until the 490s, in Byzantine service until ca. 1080. * Excubitors, Byzantine imperial guards established under the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian * Spatharioi, Byzantine palace guards in the 5th-8th centuries * Tagmata, elite Byzantine guard units in the 8th-11th centuries * Hetaireia, Byzantine mercenary guard composed of men from Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the 9th-12th centuries * Varangian Guard, Byzantine palace guards and elite soldiers in the 10th-15th centuries ; Elsewhere *

Alemannic Guard Alemannic (''Alamannic'') or Alamanni may refer to: * Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers * Alemanni, a confederation of Suebian Germanic tribes in the Roman period * Alamanni (surna ...

of Emperor of the Serbs Stefan Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty. * The Imperial Guard (also known as the Leib Guard) of the Russian Tsars.

Gallery

File:The commander of the Imperial Guard of Delhi.jpg, The commander of the Imperial Guard of Delhi File:Battle_of_Vienna.SultanMurads_with_janissaries.jpg, 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 ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' universe. * The Imperial Guard is the standing army of the Imperium in the '' Warhammer 40,000'' universe. However, the Adeptus Custodes (rather than the Guard, despite their name) actually plays the role of the Emperor's privileged personal guards. * The Crimson Brigade, the Empire of Izmir's elite fighting unit in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

film titled: '' Dungeons & Dragons''. * The Sardaukar of the Padishah Emperor and the Fremen

Fedaykin This is a list of terminology used in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the primary source being "Terminology of the Imperium", the glossary contained in the novel ''Dune'' (1965). ''Dune'' word construction could be clas ...

of Paul Muad'dib, plus their successors the

Fish Speakers Multiple organizations of the ''Dune'' universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, ...

both serve as imperial guards in Frank Herbert's ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

'' saga. * The Imperial Guard of the planet

Andor Andor may refer to: * ''Andor'' (TV series), a television series in the ''Star Wars'' universe **Cassian Andor, the titular character * Andor (''Wheel of Time''), a country in Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' novels * Andor Technology, a ...

as seen on the TV series '' Star Trek: Enterprise''.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Imperial guards Royal guards