| Scholar Palatinae Σχολαί | |
 Emperor Justinian I and his court, from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. The soldiers left, with the golden neck-torques typical of Byzantine guardsmen, are scholares. | |
| Active | 312 – c. 1068/9 |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire |
| Branch | Byzantine army Roman army |
| Type | Imperial guard |
| Role | Cavalry tactics Charge Executive protection Force protection Hand-to-hand combat Maneuver warfare Raiding Reconnaissance Shock tactics |
The Scholae Palatinae (lit. 'Palatine Schools'; Greek: Σχολαί, romanized: Scholai) were an elite military imperial guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the equites singulares Augusti, the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard. The Scholae survived in Roman and later Byzantine service until they disappeared from the historical record in the late 11th century, during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos.