Noun
eques (plural equites)
(historical, Ancient Rome) A member of the equestrian order (Latin: ordo equester), the lower of the two aristocratic classes of Ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians.
By this time, he had attained the status of eques Romanus, Satires 2.7.53 perhaps as a result of his work at the Treasury. Source: Internet
Strabo 3.169, 5.213; Wiseman, "The Definition of Eques Romanus," pp. 75–76, 78. Equestrians rose through a military career track ( tres militiae ) to become highly placed prefects and procurators within the Imperial administration. Source: Internet
Wiseman, "The Definition of Eques Romanus," pp. 71–72, 76. The census of 28 BC uncovered large numbers of men who qualified, and in 14 AD, a thousand equestrians were registered at Cadiz and Padua alone. Source: Internet
The presence of a Hellenised Diana at Nemi should be related to the presence of the cult in Campania, as Diana Tifatina was appelled Trivia in an imperial age inscription which mentions a flamen Virbialis dedicated by eques C. Octavius Verus. Source: Internet