Cohors amicorum

• Originally, since the Roman republic proper (i.e. before the Principate), the cohors amicorum was synonymous with the cohors praetoria (so called after the praetorium, the tent or more permanent dwelling of a Roman commanding general) : the military (including or annexing various logistic, domestic, financial and administrative) staff company functioning as suite and bodyguard of a high Roman official, such as a governor (who brought a trusted staff of most kinds with him to his post), especially in command of one or more legions.
• In the Principate, high administrative offices tended to be separated from military command (transfererd to imperial legates), but the various not strictly military functions still had to be aquited, so there was a mainly civilian 'company' of clerks, advisors, retainers etcetera, still refered to be such terms as cohors (amicorum), amici. In fact, the administration was to be streamlined in a rather typical officium (see that article) with ever more detailed rules on competences, carreer etcetera.

The 'company' remained at least as a social notion, if now very informal, and seems to have existed with other persons of high rank, such as imperial princes.

• its members were termed cohortalis (plural cohortales); the diminutive cohortalinus became a generic term (like apparitor) for non-cadre clerks in a high dgnitary's officium

• For an interestingly alternative, highly formalizes evolution of and from the originally parllel notion comitatus (also 'company'), see the article Comes

Sources and references

Pauly-Wissowa (German-language encyclopaedia on nearly everything relevant to Classical Antiquity)