Bump because I like your thread OP

>>1211741
haha thanks buddy

>>1211675
The Ottoman Bostancı, gardeners.
They served as groundkeepers, palatial guards and their leader, the Bostancı-başı, as Chief Executor. The executor of especially the Grand Viziers, but also any unwanted growths in the court.

They also did the regular gardening.

>>1212711
thank you!

I know a few bodyguards personally.

When I was in my prime, which is many years ago, the place considered the best to hire them was Brussels. You would also hire the bulk of the non English speaking mercenaries in the world here, if you were into that sort of thing. Regardless, the majority of the ones I was acquainted with and all of the ones I have as friends were in the employment of the sort of people you don't read about in the news.

I wouldn't call them secretive (though many were), just anonymous. One was of a prominent banking family. Other clients included people in exile, former Nazis and various collaborators, an industrialist and so on. The men who guarded them were usually selected on personal preference, what worked for one client wouldn't work for the next. For instance, language requirements, political sympathies and ethnicity were all as important as military experience, contacts, practical and specialist knowledge and so on.

Every single one was former military. French Foreign Legion featured heavily, lots of Brits too but they were usually based in London. Quite a lot of South Africans. During the 1980s you had a lot more former SF types doing it because the British SAS had introduced the first comprehensive close protection course in the late 70s, which had promptly spread around and was seen as a sort of gold standard.

>>1215053
thanks anon, thats really interesting! i completely forgot that the foreign legion was a thing!