ANCIENT HISTORY Investigate the role of the Praetorian Guard and Praetorian Prefects under the Julio Claudians. How influential were they? What does this tell you about the nature of the principate? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Was the position in the Praetorian Guard or as a Praetorian Prefect a path to power, or a dangerous move? The Praetorian Guard and its origin: Originally, a general in the Republic was protected by a guard called the 'Cohors Praetoria," named after …showed first 75 words of 1901 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1901 total…avoid joining a political faction ever hungry for more than their share of power, then it was a good career choice and certainly a way of staying alive. However, it can also be seen that as soon as one does the opposite, and plots against a princep or his family, in hopes of gaining the majority of power, (as each of the Prefects have) that one will find they have chosen that path of danger.