Content area
Full Text
(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)
Articles
INTRODUCTION
The army was one of the most significant institutions in the Roman world, with a social, cultural and economic impact extending far beyond the battlefield. It would have been difficult for any of the Empire's 60 million or so inhabitants to go about their daily lives without coming into contact with the military in some capacity: soldiers manned customs-posts, acted as police officers, enforced the law, and built bath complexes, roads and aqueducts.1The army also served as the prime conduit of social mobility in the Roman Empire, with service in the legions offering even the poorest citizens regular pay, the prospects of promotion and a healthy discharge bonus on retirement.2In this article, I shall consider one particular aspect of this phenomenon, namely the acquisition of equestrian rank by Roman soldiers and their sons in the third century. Membership of the equestrian order (ordo equester) was one of the most prestigious status designations in the Roman world, second only to the position of a senator.3The term ordo equester reflects the order's origin as the cavalry of the early Roman Republic, but by the Imperial period it encompassed a much broader range of the Empire's inhabitants, including town councillors, junior army officers, prominent lawyers and government administrators.4Given the high standing of the equestrian order and its members, the fact that soldiers were able to gain access to this status marks a significant development in the evolution of the Roman social hierarchy. It was one of several important changes in the army and administration in the third century, which witnessed the transferral of major army commands from senators to equestrians, the reorganization of the provincial administration, and the elevation of emperors from the ranks of the legions rather than from the senatorial aristocracy.5
Before examining the specific problems of the third century, it is first necessary to outline the normal circumstances in which a Roman citizen entered the ordo equester in the Imperial period. Two major points are uncontroversial: to be eligible for equestrian status, a man had to possess free birth going back three generations, and own property worth 400,000 sesterces.6There has, however, been some debate...