Praetorian (2)

After receiving the news that I had been accepted as an officer
of the Praetorian Guard, I reported to the large Praetorian
encampment just inside Rome's wall. It was located on the
far northeast side of the city. Unlike the Army's legions, the
Praetorians were allowed a camp inside the city--though a
number of Praetorian units were also stationed in parts of
Italy. And much later I was to learn that Praetorian guard
units were stationed throughout the Provinces, serving as
personal protectors to our pro-counsels who governed these
parts of the Empire.

Right off we new officers were equipped with our Praetorian
military dress and equipment, which really didn't differ much
from those of the legions. The one difference I did note was that
our shield was oval-shaped compared to the legion's rectangular
shield. We were also told that Praetorians were *not* allowed to
wear our military uniforms while walking around in the city; thus
we would wear only our tunics with just our short sword, or during
special occasions we would wear our toga with a weapon hidden
underneath. Somehow I thought this kind of ungainly, if you will!

Dressed in our Equestrian togas with the narrow stripe, we were
ushered into the Imperial Palace situated on the Palatine Hill.
It's a small hill, but allows for a broad view of the Forum on one
side--and on the other, there was a good view of the Circus
Maximus. Walking through the palace, I gawked right and left.
Later, as part of our "familiarization" training, we would traverse
the entirety of the palace, which ranged from party rooms, to
living rooms, to rooms where important trials might be held, to
the Emperor's quarters. It was surely an impressive place!

But on this certain day, we new Praetorian officers would make
a solemn oath of allegiance to our Emperor, himself. Trajan
looked to be a fairly handsome middle-aged man of a sturdy
build. I knew that he had been a military general when his
predecessor Nerva was emperor. And as Emperor, Trajan
also had through his military victory annexed Dacia as one
of Rome's provinces. Looking upon him, I felt that he was like
one of those military heros that I admired when a youngster.
Trajan was a real man, not one to manipulate. I liked him
and felt glad to be a member of his personal military service.

But that day was the first and last time I would ever lay eyes
on Trajan. Of course I didn't know that, back then. We continued
our familiarization training for another month or so. Essentially
we received extensive tours of the Imperial Palace, as I already
mentioned, as well as the Flavian Amphitheatre, and two
racetracks--the Circus Maximus and a smaller circus just outside
Rome. We also had to visit the Senate House in the Forum.
The Forum, itself, was an incredibly busy place that was not only
a marketplace but also the center for temples and law courts.
As told, it was necessary to become familiar with all these places,
because of the Emperor's visits to such. Even before he arrived,
Praetorians would go beforehand to a designated visit site and
make sure all was rendered safe for the Emperor.

Next on the agenda was some more military training. Much of
it was similar to the training I received from those retired
centurions down in Beneventum. Of course I had honed this
military training while with the Augusta up on the Rhine Frontier.
This was duly noted by the Praetorians, but they insisted upon
further training in some new techniques acquired from the
gladiatorial schools. I felt this somewhat of an irony, in that
I really did not approve of the bloodsport held not only in the
Flavian Amphitheatre, but also in amphitheatres all over the
Roman Empire. In my mind bloodsport was ignoble, even if
some of the participants were criminals. And I disliked the
practice of killing innocent animals for entertainment. Put
again, bloodsport was ignoble.

In the military there are times that blood must be spilled, but
more than often it is not ignoble. We defend the Empire, quell
disorder, expand our Greco-Roman civilization for the benefit
of our citizens. And other than some flares here and there,
nowadays there's little resistance and more a happy acceptance.
Most people are now content to live a peaceful life and flourish,
and that's due to the *Pax Romana.*

Oh well, enough of my thoughts on this! My mind turned towards
what might be my first official assignment with the Praetorians.

Perhaps I was due one of the plums after my rough time up on
the Rhine Frontier, because I nearly dropped when I heard that
I would be assigned to the Emperor's villa on the Island of Capri.