Early Roman Cavalry (8th- 4th centuries BCE), A Reappraisal

Abstract

. This article reassesses the nature and importance of Rome’s early cavalrymen, the archaic equites, in the light of new models for understanding early Italian warfare. Although the equites have always been understood to have represented Rome’s social, political, and economic elite, militarily their role is thought to have been limited. On an ancient battlefield traditionally thought to have been dominated by massed heavy infantry, cavalry actions were typically considered little more than aristocratic display. But with the recent reinterpretations of the nature of ancient battle in Italy, and a resultant decline in the importance of massed infantry and a rise in clan-based raiding, Rome’s archaic cavalry is due for a reappraisal. This article suggests that, in this new context and contrary to the traditional models, Rome’s archaic equites may have been a vitally important and highly effective part of Rome’s early armed forces down through the fourth century BCE. Their elite status, already accepted in the social, political, and economic realms, may have also been reflected in the military sphere as well.