page_title: Social class in ancient Rome
section_title: Property-Based Classes
hierarchical_section_title: Social class in ancient Rome / Property-Based Classes
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a reduction of the monumental statue on the Capitoline Hill, Rome, dedicated in AD 176- the only equestrian statue from antiquity to have survived. It escaped being melted down for cannon because it was thought to represent Constantine, the first Christian emperor. In the early 1500s, the rider was correctly re-identified as the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161-180), particularly respected by humanists for his philosophical writings on ethics. Although the first reduction of this important public statue was made in 1465 (for the study of the Florentine patron and collector Piero de' Medici), this one can be dated to after 1564, when the marble base reproduced here (designed by Michelangelo) was put in place.
context_page_description: Social class in ancient Rome was hierarchical, with multiple and overlapping social hierarchies. An individual's relative position in one might be higher or lower than in another, which complicated the social composition of Rome.
  The status of freeborn Romans during the Republic was established by:
  Ancestry;
  Census rank based on wealth and political privilege, with the senatorial and equestrian ranks elevated above the ordinary citizen;
  Gender; and
  Citizenship, of which there were grades with varying rights and privileges.
  The different Roman classes allowed for different rights and privileges, including voting rights, marriage rights, and more.
context_section_description: Roman society was also divided based on property in the Centuriate Assembly. The Centuriate Assembly was responsible for declaring war, for electing magistrates with imperium, and for trying select cases.
  Only Romans who were wealthy enough to afford their own armour were allowed to serve in the army, which consisted of both patricians and plebeians. As long as a citizen could afford armour, he was able to be a soldier. The Centuriate Assembly was divided into groups based on how wealthy one was and one’s ability to provide his armour and weapons.
  The Equestrians and Class I held 98 votes between them, thus they could outvote the combined lower classes who only had 95 votes. This was a means for the wealthier classes to maintain control over the army and social life. Rather than risk the lower classes revolt because of their lack of influence in the Assembly, the votes were allocated to ensure that the higher classes could always outvote the lower ones.
caption: A statue of a member of the equestrian class from 176 CE. This statue is believed to be from the Capitoline Hill in Rome, and is the only equestrian statue that survives.
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