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The Byzantine Papacy was a period of return to Imperial domination of the papacy from 537 to 752, when popes required the approval of the Byzantine Emperors for episcopal consecration, and many popes were chosen from the apocrisiarii (liaisons from the pope to the emperor) or the inhabitants of Byzantine Greece, Syria, or Sicily.
Established in 1506 under Pope Julius II, it is among the oldest military units in continuous operation, [5] and is sometimes called "the world's smallest army". [ 4 ] The Swiss Guard is popularly recognised by its Renaissance -era dress uniform , consisting of a tunic striped in red, dark blue, and yellow, high plumed helmet, and traditional ...
In 1904 mounted service was abolished entirely and the last horses were sold off. Originally armed with carbines, pistols and sabers, after 1870 the guardsmen carried only a saber. [2] The corps was always a volunteer one - its members were not paid for their service, although they received an allowance for their uniforms.
It saw active service during the token resistance to the occupation of Rome by Italian government troops in 1870, [5] and it survived into the period of the Vatican City State, as a de facto Vatican military unit (including a ceremonial military band) from 1929 to 1970.
When in 1970 Pope Paul VI abolished all the military bodies in Papal service except the Swiss Guards, the Gendarmerie was transformed into a Central Security Office, with the duties of protecting the Pope, defending Vatican City, and providing police and security services within its territory.
As Pope, he sought to acquire more personal and papal power and wealth, often ennobling and enriching the Borgia family directly. He appointed his son, Giovanni, as captain-general of the papal army, his foremost military representative, and established another son, Cesare, as a cardinal. Alexander used the marriages of his children to build ...
The Palatine Guard were usually seen either when the Pope was in Saint Peter's Square, or when a head of state or other important visitors were received by the Pope. Members of the corps were part-time volunteers, who were not paid for their service, though they received an allowance for replacement or repair of their uniforms.
[35] Thomas Shahan says that, according to Photius, Pope Damasus approved the council of Constantinople, but he adds that, if any part of the council were approved by this pope, it could have been only its revision of the Nicene Creed, as was the case also when Gregory the Great recognized it as one of the four general councils, but only in its ...