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 the commander's headquarters (praetorium). The Praetorian Guard was named in imitation of the Cohors Praetoria, and when Augustus became the first ruler in 27 BC he decided such a formation was useful certainly not only in war, but also in politics.
Augustus transformed the troops into the core of his own elite army at Rome, and also in Italy, which consisted of nine cohorts of 500 to 1000 men. He understood the need to have a protector in the maelstrom of Rome, and was careful to uphold the Republican appearance of his regime, and thus kept only three of the nine cohorts on duty at any given time in the capital. The remaining six were usually distributed in a number of Italian towns.
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