Equestrian (Roman)

An Equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. This class is often translated as Knight or Chevalier. However, this translation is not literal, since medieval knights relied on their martial skills, the physical power of their horse and armour to support their position, while the connection of Roman equestrians to horses became more symbolic as early as during the early days of the Republic. The social position of knights and equestrians, however, was extremely similar, equestrians being the nearest Roman equivalent to Medieval nobility, the tax farming system closely approaching feudalism without actually being identical due to inherent differences in the social structure.

Related Topics:
Latin - Social class - Roman Republic - Roman Empire - Knight - Medieval - Armour - Nobility - Tax farming - Feudalism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~