Imperial Guard

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An imperial guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor/empress. 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's Imperial Guard is an example of this. Some empires maintained ceremonial guard units, such as the British Empire, which still exist.

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 (also called a palace guard in this context).

Contents 1 List of Imperial Guards 2 Fiction 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] List of Imperial Guards

• Persian Immortals aka Immortal Guards:
  • The Persian Immortals, existing in Persia under the Achaemenean dynasty
  • Immortals (Byzantine), established under the Byzantine emperor Michael VII
  • The Immortals, the Iranian Imperial Guard, existing in Persia and Iran in the 20th century under the Pahlawi dynasty
  • The Immortals, Nihang warriors or Sikh Akalis who have played the pivotal role in Sikh military history
• Praetorian Guard of the Roman Empire, from around 27 B.C. until 312 A.D.
• Jovians and Herculians, elite Guards legions during the Tetrarchy
• Scholae Palatinae, late Roman Imperial Guards in both Western and Eastern Empires. Established in ca. 312, in the West until the 490s, in Byzantine service until ca. 1080.
• Tagmata, elite Byzantine Guards units (8th century-11th century)
• Hetaireia, Byzantine mercenary guard composed of men from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. (9th-12th centuries)
• Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire
• Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire
• 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 conscriptions.
• Imperial Guards Brigade 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
• Imperial Guard of Napoleon I and the First French Empire
• Imperial Guard (Napoleon III) of the Second French Empire
• Russian Imperial Guard, also known as the Leib Guard, of the Russian Emperor
• Garde du Corps (Prussia) of the German Empire
• Imperial Guard of Japan
• Esho of the Oyo Empire
• Mino the Amazons of Dahomey
• Kebur Zabangna (Ethiopian empire)
• Emperor's Bowmen of the Guard (Ancient Korea)
• Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards of the British Empire
• Kheshig of the Mongol Empire

[edit] Fiction

The term has been used in fiction:

• Imperial Guard (comics), a group of alien warriors in the Marvel Comics universe.
• Emperor's Royal Guard, Emperor Palpatine's personal protectors in the Star Wars universe.
• The Imperial Guard (Warhammer 40,000), the army of the Imperium in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniature wargame.

[edit] See also

• List of empires
• List of largest empires
• List of extinct countries, empires, etc.
• Imperialism
• Colonialism
• Royal Guard

[edit] External links

• Napoleon's Young Guard: Organization, Uniforms, Commanders

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