Guards units of the Byzantine Empire

elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the 10th to 14th century

Byzantine military unit size designation

The Excubitors ( or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard-unit by the Roman emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike mountain tribe of the Isaurians, replaced the older as the main imperial bodyguards. The Excubitors remained an active military unit for the next two centuries, although, as imperial bodyguards, they did not often go on campaign. Their commander, the Count of the Excubitors (, ), soon acquired great influence. Justin I was able to use this position to rise to the throne in 518

The Opsician Theme (, thema Opsikiou) or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from ) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created from the imperial retinue army, the Opsikion was the largest and most prestigious of the early themes, being located closest to Constantinople. Involved in several revolts in the 8th century, it was split in three after , and lost its former pre-eminence. It survived as a middle-tier theme until after the Fourth Crusade.

Late Roman and Byzantine-Era Imperial Guard Units

established under the Byzantine emperor Michael VII

thumb|right|Gold signet ring of John, imperial spatharios, 10th century The spatharii or spatharioi (singular: ; , literally "spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire.

The Vardariotai (, ), sometimes Anglicized as Vardariots, were an ethnic and territorial group (probably originally of Cuman and Pecheneg origin) in the later Byzantine Empire, which provided a palace guard regiment during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The '''''' (, , Latinized as ) was a term for a corps of bodyguards during the Byzantine Empire.

The Manglabites or Manglavites (, manglabitai; sing. μαγ[γ]λαβίτης, manglabitēs) were a corps of bodyguards in the Byzantine Empire.

thumb|Seal of Niketas, and of the Cibyrrhaeots (10th/11th century) ' (), Latinized as ', was a mid-ranking Byzantine court dignity used in the 7th–11th centuries.

The '''''' (, ; , , ) were a corps of imperial bodyguards and fiscal officials in the Byzantine Empire, attested from the 11th to the 15th centuries.

The Hikanatoi (), sometimes Latinized as Hicanati, were one of the Byzantine tagmata, the elite guard units based near the imperial capital of Constantinople. Founded in the early 9th century, it survived until the late 11th century.

The Paramonai () were an obscure Byzantine guard regiment of the Palaiologan period.

military unit of the Byzantine army

The Noumeroi (, masculine plural) or Noumera ([τὰ] Nούμερα, neuter plural, from the Latin numerus, "number" in the sense of "regiment") were a Byzantine infantry garrison unit for the imperial capital, Constantinople. Their main task involved the protection of the Great Palace of Constantinople and of the Noumera, one of the city's prisons.