Publication: De cuerpos militares de élite a tropas de ornamentación ceremonial. Una aproximación crítica a las Scholae Palatinae.
Authors
Ruiz Sánchez, Antonio
item.page.secondaryauthor
item.page.director
Publisher
Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones
publication.page.editor
publication.page.department
DOI
https://doi.org/10.6018/ayc.525481
item.page.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Durante los siglos III y IV asistimos a una acusada militarización del armazón socioadministrativo del Imperio Romano. Desde la irrupción en el plano institucional de las élites
castrenses hasta la misma morfología de los edificios oficiales, que trataban de imitar la
distribución de los castra, esta situación se convirtió en una realidad manifiesta. Como es natural,
en este nuevo contexto marcial la organización de las fuerzas armadas distaba mucho de aquella
que había estado vigente siglos atrás. Entre las novedades más llamativas, de cara al estudio que
nos ocupa sobresale una en especial: la revalorización del servicio de armas en el palacio imperial.
Es aquí donde debemos situar la actividad de las scholae palatinae, regimientos de caballería de
élite de 500 hombres encargados de la protección del emperador y su familia.
Su trayectoria constituye un reflejo de la evolución sociopolítica del Bajo Imperio Romano,
especialmente en oriente. Y es que el desarrollo de estos contingentes revela una serie de
problemáticas que sugieren una proyección que va mucho más allá de la esfera bélica. En este
sentido, el presente trabajo profundiza sobre el papel de estos jinetes y aborda los motivos
que explican su conversión desde guerreros de élite especialmente preparados para entrar en
combate a fuerzas cuyo ámbito de acción quedó restringido prácticamente de forma exclusiva a
la ornamentación ceremonial desde el siglo V.
During the 3rd and 4th centuries we witness a marked militarization of the socio-administrative framework of the Roman Empire. From the irruption at the institutional level of the military elites to the very morphology of the official buildings, which tried to imitate the distribution of the castra, this situation became a manifest reality. Naturally, in this new military context, the organization of the armed forces was far from the one that had been in force centuries ago. Among the most striking novelties, in view of the study at hand, one in particular stands out: the revaluation of the arms service in the imperial palace. This is where we must place the activity of the scholae palatinae, elite cavalry regiments of 500 men in charge of protecting the emperor and his family. The trajectory of the scholae is a reflection of the sociopolitical evolution of the Lower Roman Empire, especially in its Eastern half. The development of these contingents reveals a series of problems that suggest a projection that goes far beyond the sphere of war. In this sense, this paper delves into the role played by these horsemen and addresses the reasons that explain their conversion from elite warriors to forces whose scope of action was practically exclusively restricted to ceremonial ornamentation from the 5th century.
During the 3rd and 4th centuries we witness a marked militarization of the socio-administrative framework of the Roman Empire. From the irruption at the institutional level of the military elites to the very morphology of the official buildings, which tried to imitate the distribution of the castra, this situation became a manifest reality. Naturally, in this new military context, the organization of the armed forces was far from the one that had been in force centuries ago. Among the most striking novelties, in view of the study at hand, one in particular stands out: the revaluation of the arms service in the imperial palace. This is where we must place the activity of the scholae palatinae, elite cavalry regiments of 500 men in charge of protecting the emperor and his family. The trajectory of the scholae is a reflection of the sociopolitical evolution of the Lower Roman Empire, especially in its Eastern half. The development of these contingents reveals a series of problems that suggest a projection that goes far beyond the sphere of war. In this sense, this paper delves into the role played by these horsemen and addresses the reasons that explain their conversion from elite warriors to forces whose scope of action was practically exclusively restricted to ceremonial ornamentation from the 5th century.
publication.page.subject
Citation
Antigüedad y Cristianismo, Vol. 39 (2022)
item.page.embargo
Collections
Ir a Estadísticas
Este ítem está sujeto a una licencia Creative Commons. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/