Equestrian (Roman)

An equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites - also known as a vir egregius, lit. "excellent man" from the 2nd century AD onwards) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. This social class is often translated as "knight" or "chevalier" (French). 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 had become more symbolic even in the early days of the Republic. The social position of medieval knights and Roman equestrians, however, was essentially the same: they were the Roman equivalent to Medieval nobility. The Roman tax farming system shared many similarities with medieval feudalism without actually being identical, due to inherent differences in the social structure and the level of central government.

The equites were the Roman middle class between the upper class of patricians and the lower class of plebians. The distinguishing mark of the equestrian class was a gold ring (that of the patrician was of iron) and narrow black band on the tunic.