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The Eques as the name implies were the knights, the cavalry of early Roman state. As was common in ancient societies, men had to pay for there own equipment. A man with surficant wealth to pay for the upkeep of a horse was put into the equestrian order.
By the time of Balbus the cavalry units of thre Roman army was made up almost exclusively of auxillay or allied peolpe. The wealth definition was still applicable the offical amount to claim equestrian status, was HS 400,000. By Balbus' time "such an estate no longer counted as wealth" M.Gelzer, The Roman Nobility.
The Senatorial order were not alllwed to indulge in trade, "All profit from trade was thought of as improper for senators" Livy 21,63,4.. By the time covered by this page "the law had not yey beeen repealed but was genrally ignored" M.Gelzer The Roman Noblity.
This meant that the next richest order had become involved with trade and by ower time were often the riches men in the state. They formed themselves into associations or companies, called publicani. They had fingers in may pies in everything from suppling the army, dealing in slaves and collecting taxes. However although Cicero may have said that "the publicani form the flower of the Roman equites" planc.23, they were often dispised. Cicero again "Small-scale trade must be regarded as sordid, but large scale trade on the other hand, which makes many things available and and brings advantage to many without dishonest, is not wholly to be condemned. Indeed if, weary of profit, the trader retires from the harbour to the land and an estate, as he often used to retire from the sea to the harbour, trademay justly be praised" Cicero off.1.150f.
The right to raise taxes in the provinces were auctioned at Rome by the senate to the highest bidding publicani. These firms would then try and extract as much as possilbe above this amount from the unfotunate provincails. This was there profit. The system caised much hardship and unrest, many disturbances in the provinces that needed 'police' action by thee army can be traced back to the activities of the tax collecters.
There was a property qualification of HS 800,000 normaly invested in land many senators had a lot more others got thrown out of the senate for not having enough. Not allowed to be involved in trade, but this could be cercumvented by working through middle men. There were also respectable trade, if it was thought to have a agricultural dimention that was allowed, brick making was an agricultural pursute and fortunes were made in their manifacture by senatorial families.
Censors enroled those men they believe were distinguished to the senate, this was of cause open to political abuse. Sulla after packing the senate with his own supporters, made it automatic for quaestors of which there was 20 to enter the senate, limiting the need for centors.
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a city of bricks and left it a city of marble