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Equestrian Rank in the Cities of the African Provinces under the Principate: An Epigraphic Survey

1967; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 35; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0068246200007625

2045-239X

Richard Duncan-Jones,

Medieval History and Crusades

This article is a study of the relationship between equestrian rank and local affairs in the cities of Africa Proconsularis, Numidia and the Mauretanias, during the period of the Principate. The discussion centres on the conferment of equestrian rank; the question of how far local office was an avenue to equestrian promotion; and the extent to which local men, having once achieved equestrian or juror rank, continued to take part in municipal affairs. The enquiry is based on a classified list of knights and iudices in African cities, drawn from epigraphic evidence (pp. 166–183, below). Because the purpose is the limited one of investigating knighthood in the municipal context, some knights have been excluded from the list. Knights who held public office, and who would thus probably have spent substantial parts of their adult life away from their native town, have been omitted, except in cases where they are actually recorded as taking some part in municipal affairs. In fact, a substantial number of those who followed equestrian careers (as distinct from merely receiving equestrian rank) did also participate in municipal affairs, often at the beginning of their careers; and fifty-five entries in the list are made up of procurators (nos. 1-23), and holders of military posts (nos. 41–72).