06-18-2015, 05:36 PM
Quote:why would Equestrians ever pursue the quarta militia as a career path?
We don't know enough, I think, about the equestrian military career to determine why a man would chose one path rather than the other. Centurio ex eques and cohort prefect seem to have been paid about the same, and while we might assume the tres militiae to have been more prestigious, we should remember that Pertinax was originally trying for a centurionate, and only took a cohort prefecture as a second choice!
As for the quarta militia, presumably as it was rare it was highly prized, and a sign of great favour, high connections and/or military prowess. Either way it would be a surer boost up the ladder than just holding an ordinary sexagenarian procuratorship (which seems to have been the usual next step from praefectus ala)
This diagram is quite speculative and presents perhaps too neat a picture, but it's useful nonetheless:
[attachment=12464]Equestriancareerscheme.jpg[/attachment]
Nathan Ross
