Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RIDERS (EquestRian OffIcers as an Innovative Tool for Developing a MiDdle-out Approach to Roman ImpERial EliteS (1st-3rd AD))
Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2025-09-30
Roman society was strictly hierarchized and members of the elite are the most represented in the available documentation. As the Empire progressively incorporated as provinces many new territories with different political and social organizations, the traditional Roman elite had to cope with the various provincial elites, which differed significantly in terms of religion, language and traditions. Still, despite her strong hierarchization, Roman aristocracy was never a closed group.
Members of local aristocracies – even those coming from remote provinces – could aspire, by serving the emperor in various ways, to integrate the equestrian order (ordo equester), and, perhaps, even the senatorial rank. The traditional Roman elite and civic elites represent the two poles of the complex cultural phenomenon known as Romanisation, i.e. the result of integrating different populations into the Roman political system, by conforming with the culture of Greco-Roman empire.
Heretofore, scholars have investigated Roman imperial elites mainly focusing on the two extremes, either the imperial Roman elite (i.e. senators and equestrians employed in the high imperial administration) or the civic elites. Using terms borrowed from electronics, we can say that scholars have generally developed on the one hand a top-down approach (i.e. starting from the top, in this case senators and equestrians employed in imperial administration), on the other hand a bottom-up one (i.e. starting from the bottom, in this case civic elite members), thus omitting a middle-out perspective (focusing on everything between the top and the bottom, in this case elite members who were concurrently part of civic elites and traditional elites, neither reaching the top of the traditional elite nor remaining at the bottom of the civic one).
What was still lacking was, in fact, an in-depth analysis of what lies between the two social extremes of the traditional Roman elite and civic elites: who was elevated to the equestrian rank, covering roles in imperial administration, but also remained fully engaged in their communities as working members of the local élite?
The RIDERS project aimed to fill this gap by conducting an innovative and multidisciplinary analysis of 2,500 equestrian officers, covering the period from the reign of Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) to that of Emperor Gallienus (260–268 AD).
In particular, the RIDERS project objectives were fivefold:
- Analysis of interpersonal ties of equestrian officers
- Investigation of the social identity of equestrian officers
- Understanding the spatial relations of equestrian officers
- Study of the public representation of equestrian officers
- Investigation of the social mobility of equestrian officers
Members of local aristocracies – even those coming from remote provinces – could aspire, by serving the emperor in various ways, to integrate the equestrian order (ordo equester), and, perhaps, even the senatorial rank. The traditional Roman elite and civic elites represent the two poles of the complex cultural phenomenon known as Romanisation, i.e. the result of integrating different populations into the Roman political system, by conforming with the culture of Greco-Roman empire.
Heretofore, scholars have investigated Roman imperial elites mainly focusing on the two extremes, either the imperial Roman elite (i.e. senators and equestrians employed in the high imperial administration) or the civic elites. Using terms borrowed from electronics, we can say that scholars have generally developed on the one hand a top-down approach (i.e. starting from the top, in this case senators and equestrians employed in imperial administration), on the other hand a bottom-up one (i.e. starting from the bottom, in this case civic elite members), thus omitting a middle-out perspective (focusing on everything between the top and the bottom, in this case elite members who were concurrently part of civic elites and traditional elites, neither reaching the top of the traditional elite nor remaining at the bottom of the civic one).
What was still lacking was, in fact, an in-depth analysis of what lies between the two social extremes of the traditional Roman elite and civic elites: who was elevated to the equestrian rank, covering roles in imperial administration, but also remained fully engaged in their communities as working members of the local élite?
The RIDERS project aimed to fill this gap by conducting an innovative and multidisciplinary analysis of 2,500 equestrian officers, covering the period from the reign of Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) to that of Emperor Gallienus (260–268 AD).
In particular, the RIDERS project objectives were fivefold:
- Analysis of interpersonal ties of equestrian officers
- Investigation of the social identity of equestrian officers
- Understanding the spatial relations of equestrian officers
- Study of the public representation of equestrian officers
- Investigation of the social mobility of equestrian officers
The RIDERS project was terminated early due to the researcher obtaining a tenure-track position; therefore, not all of the planned objectives were fulfilled.
However, over the course of the project (17 months), work was performed as follows: firstly, time was devoted to discussing with the supervisor and the Director of the HI Centre for Digital Humanities how the PATRIMONIVM project database, which was previously developed at the HI, could be employed in the RIDERS project.
The main problem was understanding how to structure the prosopographical record for each officer, given that the PATRIMONIVM database was designed to analyse territories and documents rather than individuals.
Thereafter, the time devoted to entering each officer's data into the database was considerable. This work continued for almost the entire duration of the project, as inserting a new record often brought new problems and caused the general structure to be reconsidered.
A number of adjustments were also implemented following discussions with other scholars who had been in contact with the project.
Secondly, the researcher established the necessary networks to implement the skills required for the innovative research methodology described in the project, particularly with regard to SNA and Time Geography.
During short visits (mostly to Sweden) or workshops, the researcher studied the theoretical basis and working methods of the two scientific approaches. She then discussed with her supervisor how to apply this methodology to the RIDERS data.
After that, time was spent finding sociologists who were willing to work with the RIDERS project to investigate the social identity of equestrian officers.
In October 2024, a workshop was organized in which ancient historians specializing in equestrian officers and sociologists discussed the extent to which the modern concept of the group could be applied to equestrian officers.
In November 2024, the first results of the project were presented at an international conference held at Sorbonne University in Paris. This provided an opportunity to begin evaluating the potential impact of the project on the study of Roman imperial society.
However, over the course of the project (17 months), work was performed as follows: firstly, time was devoted to discussing with the supervisor and the Director of the HI Centre for Digital Humanities how the PATRIMONIVM project database, which was previously developed at the HI, could be employed in the RIDERS project.
The main problem was understanding how to structure the prosopographical record for each officer, given that the PATRIMONIVM database was designed to analyse territories and documents rather than individuals.
Thereafter, the time devoted to entering each officer's data into the database was considerable. This work continued for almost the entire duration of the project, as inserting a new record often brought new problems and caused the general structure to be reconsidered.
A number of adjustments were also implemented following discussions with other scholars who had been in contact with the project.
Secondly, the researcher established the necessary networks to implement the skills required for the innovative research methodology described in the project, particularly with regard to SNA and Time Geography.
During short visits (mostly to Sweden) or workshops, the researcher studied the theoretical basis and working methods of the two scientific approaches. She then discussed with her supervisor how to apply this methodology to the RIDERS data.
After that, time was spent finding sociologists who were willing to work with the RIDERS project to investigate the social identity of equestrian officers.
In October 2024, a workshop was organized in which ancient historians specializing in equestrian officers and sociologists discussed the extent to which the modern concept of the group could be applied to equestrian officers.
In November 2024, the first results of the project were presented at an international conference held at Sorbonne University in Paris. This provided an opportunity to begin evaluating the potential impact of the project on the study of Roman imperial society.
Although not all the planned objectives were achieved due to the early termination, the work carried out revealed how crucial the relationships established by officers during their appointments in the Roman provinces were for the continuation of their careers. In particular, it was elucidated that provincial governors and other members of the imperial elite chose their future collaborators from among the equestrian officers they encountered in their previous province of assignment.
Furthermore, the outcome is that, while the modern sociological concept of a group cannot be applied to equestrian officers in all cases, it is preferable to retain the Latin definition of 'ordo'. Nevertheless, some of the dynamics recognisable in groups today could also be identified among equestrian officers.
These initial results have raised questions about some of the definitions traditionally used by scholars to study Roman elites, highlighting the different nuances and complexities of imperial society.
The findings of this study provide compelling evidence that the project has the potential to prompt a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Roman elite. The new investigation should focus on the wealthiest individuals in each province who had the means to join the Equestrian Order.
Furthermore, the outcome is that, while the modern sociological concept of a group cannot be applied to equestrian officers in all cases, it is preferable to retain the Latin definition of 'ordo'. Nevertheless, some of the dynamics recognisable in groups today could also be identified among equestrian officers.
These initial results have raised questions about some of the definitions traditionally used by scholars to study Roman elites, highlighting the different nuances and complexities of imperial society.
The findings of this study provide compelling evidence that the project has the potential to prompt a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Roman elite. The new investigation should focus on the wealthiest individuals in each province who had the means to join the Equestrian Order.