Civil Equestrian Roles

[Nathan Ross]

The military organisation of the Equestrian order under the empire is quite well known - i.e. the Claudian progression from cohort prefect to legion tribune to ala commander. But what roles might equestrians have filled in civilian society, when they weren't in the army? I'm thinking particularly about the more junior positions - not everybody got to be Procurator of the Aemilian Way or Praefect of Egypt, after all.

Is there evidence of equestrians filling positions in provincial government, as decemviri or similar? The Leg II Aug site mentions two Equestrian tribunes having been 'personal assistant to a senator' before their military service - can anyone explain what the actual title for this might have been, and what it involved? Could an equestrian have joined the officium of a provincial governor, perhaps?

Any answers/hints/guesses much appreciated!

[Carlton Bach]

It has been a long time since I last looked at the nobility's career options, but here's what I can dredge up:

the 'personal assistant to a senator' is most likely a member of what is sometimes called the cohors amicorum, a group of friends that senators had about them. These were junior nobles out to learn the ropes of the job, and while most just accompanied him to the forum, some went along on governorships and legion commands.

Other than thatm equestrians had a number of career opprtunities in the imperial service. There were procuratorships in the provinces, managing the taxation, and some subordinate positions in the administration that were considered too lowly for senators (the prefecture of Judaea for Pilate is an example, as would be the prefecture of the Pontic Shore mentioned by Pliny, and I'm sure there were plenty more). I also recall that equestrians worked in positions managing the imperial 'holdings' (for want of a better word, what would later be referred to as the emperor's res privata), though I don't know how widespread that was at any given time. By the second century, the imperial secretaryships also were open to equestrians IIRC - certainly no longer staffed by freedmen.

[Nathan Ross]

Thanks Carlton!

I'm guessing the cohors amicorum would have been composed of those 'cohortales' which Catullus mentions as accompanying provincial governors (and not getting much reward for it!) - it does make sense for these to be young equestrians.

Is it reasonable to suppose that many of the provincial nobility would have been members of the equestrian order as well? If so, they could have filled much of the municipal and imperial government roles in the provinces...

I'll have to try and get hold of a copy of Devijner's 'Equestrian Officers of the Roman Army', which would probably have a lot more biographical info on individuals before and after their military service.