A History of the Roman Equestrian Order

The first comprehensive history of the equestrian order, the second-highest status group in the Roman world.

Caillan Davenport (Author)

9781009376228, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 23 March 2023

743 pages, 42 b/w illus.
24.4 x 17 x 3.8 cm, 1.259 kg

'Davenport has produced a very impressive work. Although intended primarily for the serious scholar of Roman institutions, those with an interest in Roman military history will find Davenport's work of considerable value.' A. A. Nofi, StrategyPage (www.strategypage.com)

In the Roman social hierarchy, the equestrian order stood second only to the senatorial aristocracy in status and prestige. Throughout more than a thousand years of Roman history, equestrians played prominent roles in the Roman government, army, and society as cavalrymen, officers, businessmen, tax collectors, jurors, administrators, and writers. This book offers the first comprehensive history of the equestrian order, covering the period from the eighth century BC to the fifth century AD. It examines how Rome's cavalry became the equestrian order during the Republican period, before analysing how imperial rule transformed the role of equestrians in government. Using literary and documentary evidence, the book demonstrates the vital social function which the equestrian order filled in the Roman world, and how this was shaped by the transformation of the Roman state itself.

Introduction: charting the history of the equestrian order
Part I. The Republic: 1. Riding for Rome
2. Cicero's equestrian order
3. Questions of status
Part II. The Empire: 4. Pathways to the principate
5. An imperial order
6. Cursus and vita (I): officers
7. Cursus and vita (II): administrators
Part III. Equestrians on Display: 8. Ceremonies and consensus
9. Spectators and performers
10. Religion and the Res Publica
Part IV. The Late Empire: 11. Governors and generals
12. The last equites Romani
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Political structure & processes [JPH], Political ideologies [JPF], Sociology [JHB], Cultural studies [JFC], Military history [HBW], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], European history [HBJD]