Elite Units of the Ancient World

[rotorgun]

Fascinating Watchman. I appreciate your answer. It provides a clearer picture of what these soldiers were used for in the course of their normal duties. Perhaps they were chosen for such duties because of their initiative, physical prowess, inteligence, and above all loyalty. Those are charecteristics that I look for when I am choosing soldiers from among my Platoon for a particularly difficult, or ticklish mission.

[Julian the apostate]

I"ve got to agree with Watchman about different levels of elite status
The Roman military as a whole can be seen as elite- they were relatively selective about how they took until I think Marius removed the requirement for legionaries to be landowners. Within any legion there would be NCOs and veterans but there would also be veteran legions with special reputations. The 10th during Caesars time had one of these reputations, having fought with him through multiple campaigns and saved his army during multiple battles. The legion itself would have had different subunits with different purposes.

Any of the Orders during medieval time would have been seen as elite. I think Longbowmen as a whole deserve the title simply because England created Laws requiring peasants to practice the art weekly.

[Watchman]

Er - that's not much of a definition for "elite". It's like saying all the Venetian citizen militia of the 14th century were "elite" because they were obliged to drill and practice regularly, or all ancient German tribal warriors were "elite" because they got so much practical experience in all those endemic inter-tribal raids and squabbles...

That's not what produces elite troops; it's the prequisite for competent regulars.

[L.C.Cinna]

Some more of the selected guards units are the equites singulares augusti and the protectores domestici.