Praetorian Guard reform

How plausible is it that the Praetorian Guard could be removed from politics and turned into a sort of Elite Special Forces, such as the modern day SAS or Delta Force, e.c.t?
Here's some background information: its around about the year 190 AD, and Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus swapped fate with his younger twin brother, the infamous Commodus, and is, for all intents and purposes, the best emperor Rome has ever had/ will have. He is the fairest, most respectable, kindest, cleverest, so on so forth.
Also, I can arrange a little bit of political turmoil and intrigue which leads to a failed assassination attempt on his life by the Praetorian Guard, giving him personal reasons to reform the Praetoriani entirely.
How plausible is it?
 
Very implausible, I'm afraid. A competent emperor could control the cohortes praetoriae, and most did. They were not an unusually political force, or a particularly corrupt one, they were just so close to the centre of power that the temptation to misbehave was greater. Most Roman units, given the opportuinity, did much as they did later on.

What I could see would be a significant weakening of the praetorians. That had been tried before, and later. Rome was already home to the urban cohorts, the equites singulares Augusti (much closer to the SpecOps idea you have) and a sizeable naval detail, that could be pitted against the praetorians if need be. A reduction in force, or a partial redeployment, would have been enough. Of course that has its own difficulties - but in a system where military backing conveys legitimacy, the relationshipü between ruler and military will inevitably be fraught.

There are a few things that a reform-minded emperor could do to increase the usefulness of the Praetorians. For one thing, instead of making entry into them the stepping stone to a career, he could make it the goal of one. Praetoarians were usually recruited from Italy and rarely served outside it unless they filled officer slots somewhere. That was a counterpoint to the equites singulares, recruited from troops in the provinces, and it did reduce their military usefulness. A Praetorian guard composed of highly decorated legionaries would be an interesting model. it was tried - did not last, but was tried. Generally, the Roman experience with composite forces like that was good.

As to Specops - the problem is that in Roman terms, special operations are not prestigious. The Praetorians were heavy infantry because that was a battlewinning arm. Roman troops capable of what we would, roughly, call special operations were mostly in the cavalry, the navy, and detached-duty legionaries. Dedicating the praetorians to this would be a major demotion. Plus, there already were troops like that in Rome, as said above.
 
The Praetorians really became the infamous elite they were after Sejanus's reforms; the centralised command in the prefect and put al the troops into one barracks outside Rome thus making it easier to control them and seperate them from the civiolian populace. If you get rid of Sejanus earlier then you could get rid of his reforms and keep the Praetorians a relatively modest military police force around Rome.

Or on the flipside you could have Sejanus succeed, make himself Emperor and use the Praetorians as his own personal elite unit. I haven't seen this before, probably for good reason, but it's an interesting scenario.
 
Ah well. I suppose I kinda already new the answer, but I was hoping to be proved wrong.
Carlton, I like the idea that the Praetoriani would be the pinnacle of one's military career. But what I don't like about the Praetoriani is their tendancy to stick their nose into politics. As you said, their too close to not get involved, so why don't I move them away from the temptation?
Alternatively, could a reform-minded Emperor create a sort of 'counter-weight' to the Praetoriani?
 
To some extent this isn't a Praetorian problem, this is just a matter of how the imperatorship is ultimately based on the army.

And thus he who has the support of the soldiers wins. The Praetorians or any similar body are in a good position to use that, legions out in the field not so much (except as used in an outright civil war).
 
Ah well. I suppose I kinda already new the answer, but I was hoping to be proved wrong.
Carlton, I like the idea that the Praetoriani would be the pinnacle of one's military career. But what I don't like about the Praetoriani is their tendancy to stick their nose into politics. As you said, their too close to not get involved, so why don't I move them away from the temptation?
Alternatively, could a reform-minded Emperor create a sort of 'counter-weight' to the Praetoriani?

There is a counterweight to the Praetorians. We get this rather unfortunate impression of Rome as a demilitarised area with the Praetorians ruling the roost for want of competition. In fact, there were the urban cohorts and vigiles, the equites singulares Augusti (less prestiguious, but I know which side I'd back in a real fight), and within shouting distance, the Ravennan and Misene fleets, with manpower enough to raise two legions (as Nero did). A competent emperor can balance this even without bringing more troops into Italy (as Severus did in the end).

I think none problem is the influence of the Praetorian Prefect. The commander just accumulated additional duties because he was there, with a staff and office, to pass them on to. It made sense at the time, but in the end you have an incredibly prestigious and powerful office with the pull to stop any reduction, redelpoyment or reform. If an emperor at some point in the first or second century decided to remove the office rather than give it to a trustworthy ally, that could have helped.
 
There's also the case that because of the many civil wars, Emperors ended up with a military background and were too busy fighting wars.
 
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