Translating for barbarians - speaking of which... The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

I've had numerous requests to translate this literal masterpiece (my blog of course) for barbarians. The language that they want my blog to be translated into is swedish, since apparently I have a sizable group of potential readers who lack sufficient knowledge of the english language to fully comprehend my posts. So I'll try to create a parralel page to this one...some time...

I've come a little longer in the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.
(Godness, that's a long title...let's just call it The Kickass Roman book!...Journals about the Ave people!...The pre nineteenth century novel of the Greatest empire in the history of earth! OK, let's just call it DFRE...)
Anyway, I've reached page 200, and it's a very fascinating book.

One of the aspects put forward in the book, (you have to take into consideration that it was written in the eighteenth century, without acess to a lot of then unknown modern facts) is that the Praetorian Guard (The Emperor's bodyguard) was so powerful, that they could essentially depose an emperor. Not the stunning news perhaps perhaps ( I were also aware of this before reading the book), but the logical arguments behind it are very rational. About all the "old" emperors of the principate where able to keep the guard under some degree of control, by dispersing them all over Italy.

Actually, if memory serves, (which it probably does) then that rule was established by the first emperor: Augustus.

So why did that diminsh the guard's power, and why were they so powerful in the first place?
Well, the answer to the second question, is that because they were entrusted with the emperor's security, and beccause they were positioned in the capital (among other locations) - Rome, they were close to all powercentras - The senate and the Emperor, which meant that if they for instance chose to march into the senate and kill every single senator, then there really wasn't much even the emperor could do. Same thing with them being close to the emperor, if they didn't like him, (he didn't really have to be a bad emperor, just for examle someone who tried to diminish they're power, or cut down they're wages) they could just drop in and assasinate him without any military opposition.

Allright, answer to the first question: Before the reign of Septimus Severus, the guard was dispersed all over italy, and the emperors worked to secretely diminish they're impact on decicions by not making them aware of they're own power. Of course, the guard were aware that they were powerful, but that power was not accnowledged in a stunningly obvious manner in the constitution. By trying not making the Praetorians know of they're own power, and by not giving them more of it (Septimus Severus made the guard 42 000 men strong, and placed a strong garrison just outside the walls of Rome) the smart emperors were able to keep them in line.
Still, even the mighty conqueror Trajan had to show respect, and ask politely (metaphorically) when he was to "boss the around" so to speak.

One might trace the origin of much the problems in the later Empire, and some of reasons to the crisis of the third century to Commodus (the guy who started to screw things up if you ask me), the son of Marcus Aurelius, last of the five good empeors. He essentially ignored lots of problems, and created a bunch of them as well.
Mind you, this is not written by a complete professional, although I can with pretty great certainty say that my knowledge of history is considerably greater than that of an "average Joe".
Aaaaaaaanyway...
This post is getting long.
I think I'll stop here.
I'll write more regarding this particular subject in hopefully, not too much notice.
See ya.