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95-654: The Earl Haig Memorial is a bronze equestrian statue of the British Western Front commander Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig on Whitehall in Westminster , London . It was created by the sculptor Alfred Frank Hardiman and commissioned by Parliament in 1928. Eight years in the making, it aroused considerable controversy; the Field Marshal's riding position, his uniform, the horse's anatomy and its stance all drew harsh criticism. The inscription on

190-524: A classic oligarchy , in which political power was monopolised by the richest social echelon. Probably by 300 BC, the centuriate organisation of the Roman citizen body for political purposes achieved the evolved form described by Polybius and Livy. The comitia centuriata was the most powerful people's assembly, as it promulgated Roman laws and annually elected the Roman magistrates , the executive officers of

285-413: A closed hereditary caste, steadily diminished in numbers over the centuries, as families died out. Around 450 BC, there are some 50 patrician gentes (clans) recorded, whereas just 14 remained at the time of Julius Caesar (dictator of Rome 48–44 BC), whose own Iulii clan was patrician. In contrast, the ranks of equites , although also hereditary (in the male line), were open to new entrants who met

380-458: A defunct republican ceremony, the recognitio equitum (inspection of the equites ), in which equites paraded every five years with their horses before the consuls. At some stage during the early Principate, equites acquired the right to the title "egregius" ("distinguished gentleman"), while senators were styled " clarissimus " ("most distinguished"). Beyond equites with equus publicus , Augustus' legislation permitted any Roman citizen who

475-416: A martial society. For equites , a focus of the heroic ethos was the quest for spolia opima , the stripped armour and weapons of a foe whom they had killed in single combat. There are many recorded instances. For example, Servilius Geminus Pulex , who went on to become Consul in 202 BC, was reputed to have gained spolia 23 times. The higher the rank of the opponent killed in combat, the more prestigious

570-729: A number of times, and an equestrian statue of Queen Victoria features prominently in George Square , Glasgow). In America, the late 1970s and early 1980s witnessed something of a revival in equestrian monuments, largely in the Southwestern United States . There, art centers such as Loveland, Colorado , Shidoni Foundry in New Mexico , and various studios in Texas once again began producing equestrian sculpture. These revival works fall into two general categories,

665-446: A relatively small scale. No Chinese portrait equestrian statues were made until modern times; statues of rulers are not part of traditional Chinese art, and indeed even painted portraits were only shown to high officials on special occasions until the eleventh century. Such statues frequently commemorated military leaders, and those statesmen who wished to symbolically emphasize the active leadership role undertaken since Roman times by

760-661: A shadow over our war dead?". On 4 June 2020, protesters shouted abuse at soldiers from the Household Cavalry whilst scrubbing A.C.A.B. graffiti from the memorial, following a Black Lives Matter protest. Equestrian statue Although there are outliers, the form is essentially a tradition in Western art , used for imperial propaganda by the Roman emperors, with a significant revival in Italian Renaissance sculpture , which continued across Europe in

855-431: A small minority of the citizenry. (The lowest class, the proletarii , rated at under 400 drachmae , had just one vote, despite being the most numerous). As a result, the wealthiest echelon could ensure that the elected magistrates were always their own members. In turn, this ensured that the senate was dominated by the wealthy classes, as its membership was composed almost entirely of current and former magistrates. In

950-511: A third of the total voting-power of the equites , even though they constituted only a tiny minority of the order by 200 BC. Patricians also enjoyed official precedence, such as the right to speak first in senatorial debates, which were initiated by the princeps senatus (Leader of the Senate), a position reserved for patricians. In addition, patricians monopolized certain priesthoods and continued to enjoy enormous prestige. The period following

1045-736: Is a small version in the Louvre . The near life-size equestrian statue of Charles I of England by Hubert Le Sueur of 1633 at Charing Cross in London is the earliest large English example, which was followed by many. The equestrian statue of King José I of Portugal , in the Praça do Comércio , was designed by Joaquim Machado de Castro after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and is a pinnacle of Absolutist age statues in Europe. The Bronze Horseman ( Russian : Медный всадник , literally "The Copper Horseman")

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1140-567: Is a well-known relief including an equestrian portrait. As the twentieth century progressed, the popularity of the equestrian monument declined sharply, as monarchies fell and the military use of horses virtually vanished. The statue of Queen Elizabeth II riding Burmese in Canada , and statues of Rani Lakshmibai in Gwalior and Jhansi , India, are some of the rare portrait statues with female riders. (Although Joan of Arc has been so portrayed

1235-547: Is an iconic equestrian statue, on a huge base, of Peter the Great of 1782 by Étienne Maurice Falconet in Saint Petersburg , Russia . The use of French artists for both examples demonstrates the slow spread of the skills necessary for creating large works, but by the nineteenth century most large Western countries could produce them without the need to import skills, and most statues of earlier figures are actually from

1330-510: Is memorialised, mounted passant , outside the Palace of Westminster by Carlo Marochetti ; the former died 11 days after his wound, sustained in siege, turned septic. A survey of 15 equestrian statues in central London by the Londonist website found that nine of them corresponded to the supposed rule, and considered it "not a reliable system for reading the fate of any particular rider". In

1425-547: Is the world's tallest equestrian statue of a polo player. It depicts ancient Meitei deity Marjing ,a Meitei horse (Manipuri pony) and Sagol Kangjei ( Meitei for ' polo '). The world's largest equestrian sculpture, when completed, will be the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota , at a planned 641 feet (195 m) wide and 563 feet (172 m) high, even though only the upper torso and head of

1520-403: The comitia centuriata (electoral assembly) retained the names of the original six royal cavalry centuriae . These are very likely the " centuriae of patrician nobles" in the comitia mentioned by the lexicologist Sextus Pompeius Festus . If this view is correct, it implies that the cavalry was exclusively patrician (and therefore hereditary) in the regal period. (However, Cornell considers

1615-592: The condottiere , erected in Padua . In fifteenth-century Italy, this became a form to memorialize successful mercenary generals, as evidenced by the painted equestrian funerary monuments to Sir John Hawkwood and Niccolò da Tolentino in Florence Cathedral , and the statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni (1478–1488) cast by Verrocchio in Venice . Leonardo da Vinci had planned a colossal equestrian monument to

1710-488: The praefecti praetorio (commanders of the Praetorian Guard) who also acted as the emperor's chiefs of military staff. There were normally two of these, but at times irregular appointments resulted in just a single incumbent or even three at the same time. Equestrians also provided the praefecti classis (admirals commanding) of the two main imperial fleets at Misenum in the bay of Naples and at Ravenna on

1805-502: The praefectus urbi (prefect of the city of Rome), who controlled the cohortes urbanae (public order battalions), the only fully armed force in the city apart from the Praetorian Guard. Nevertheless, a wide range of senior administrative and military posts were created and reserved for equestrians by Augustus, though most ranked below the senatorial posts. In the imperial administration, equestrian posts included that of

1900-407: The socii (Rome's Italian military confederates, often referred to as "Latin allies"). Each legion would be matched by a confederate ala (literally: "wing"), a formation that contained roughly the same number of infantry as a legion, but three times the number of horses (900). Legionary cavalry also probably underwent a transformation during this period, from the light, unarmoured horsemen of

1995-728: The American Revolutionary War . Some fragments survived and in 2016 the statue was recreated for a museum. In the United States, the first three full-scale equestrian sculptures erected were Clark Mills' Andrew Jackson (1852) in Washington, D.C. ; Henry Kirke Brown 's George Washington (1856) in New York City ; and Thomas Crawford 's George Washington in Richmond, Virginia (1858). Mills

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2090-562: The Athenian acropolis , the sixth-century BC statue known as the Rampin Rider depicts a kouros mounted on horseback. A number of ancient Egyptian , Assyrian and Persian reliefs show mounted figures, usually rulers, though no free-standing statues are known. The Chinese Terracotta Army has no mounted riders, though cavalrymen stand beside their mounts, but smaller Tang dynasty pottery tomb Qua figures often include them, at

2185-777: The Bamberg Horseman (German: Der Bamberger Reiter ), in Bamberg Cathedral . Another example is the Magdeburg Reiter , in the city of Magdeburg , that depicts Emperor Otto I . This is in stone, which is fairly unusual at any period, though the Gothic statues at less than life-size at the Scaliger Tombs in Verona are also in stone. There are a few roughly half-size statues of Saint George and

2280-510: The Battle of the Wilderness the following year. This is not a traditional statue, as it does not place him on a pedestal . One writer claims that any correlation between the positioning of hooves in a statue and the manner in which a Gettysburg soldier died is a coincidence. There is no proper evidence that these hoof positions correlate consistently with the rider's history but some hold to

2375-548: The Principate era (to 284 AD). They continued to supply the senior officers of the army throughout the Principate. With the exception of the purely hereditary patricians, the equites were originally defined by a property threshold. The rank was passed from father to son, although members of the order who at the regular quinquennial (every five years) census no longer met the property requirement were usually removed from

2470-614: The Roman Kingdom and the first century of the Roman Republic , legionary cavalry was recruited exclusively from the ranks of the patricians , who were expected to provide six centuriae (hundred) of cavalry (300 horses for each consular legion). Around 400   BC, 12 more centuriae of cavalry were established and these included non-patricians ( plebeians ). Around 300 BC the Samnite Wars obliged Rome to double

2565-430: The praefecti (commanders) of the imperial army's auxiliary regiments and five of the six tribuni militum (senior staff officers) in each legion. The standard equestrian officer progression was known as the " tres militiae " ("three services"): praefectus of a cohors (auxiliary infantry regiment), followed by tribunus militum in a legion, and finally praefectus of an ala (auxiliary cavalry regiment). From

2660-497: The spolia , and none more so than spolia duci hostium detracta , spoils taken from an enemy leader himself. Many equites attempted to gain such an honour, but very few succeeded for the reason that enemy leaders were always surrounded by large numbers of elite bodyguards. One successful attempt, but with a tragic twist, was that of the decurion Titus Manlius Torquatus in 340 BC during the Latin War. Despite strict orders from

2755-455: The " polybian " army of the mid-republic (338 – 88 BC), equites held the exclusive right to serve as senior officers of the army. These were the six tribuni militum in each legion who were elected by the comitia at the start of each campaigning season and took turns to command the legion in pairs; the praefecti sociorum , commanders of the Italian confederate alae , who were appointed by

2850-481: The 3rd century AD, power shifted from the Italian aristocracy to a class of equites who had earned their membership by distinguished military service, often rising from the ranks: career military officers from the provinces (especially the Balkan provinces) who displaced the Italian aristocrats in the top military posts, and under Diocletian (ruled 284–305) from the top civilian positions also. This effectively reduced

2945-465: The 4th century was thus the equivalent of the equestrian order of the Principate. According to Roman legend, Rome was founded by its first king, Romulus , in 753 BC. However, archaeological evidence suggests that Rome did not acquire the character of a unified city-state (as opposed to a number of separate hilltop settlements) until c. 625   BC. Roman tradition relates that the Order of Knights

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3040-610: The Baroque, as mastering the large-scale casting of bronze became more widespread, and later periods. Statues at well under life-size have been popular in various materials, including porcelain , since the Renaissance. The riders in these may not be portraits, but figures from classical mythology or generic figures such as Native Americans . Equestrian statuary in the West dates back at least as far as Archaic Greece . Found on

3135-642: The Dragon , including the famous ones in Prague and Stockholm . A well-known small bronze equestrian statuette of Charlemagne (or another emperor) in Paris may be a contemporary portrait of Charlemagne , although its date and subject are uncertain. After the Romans, no surviving monumental equestrian bronze was cast in Europe until 1415–1450, when Donatello created the heroic bronze equestrian statue of Gattamelata

3230-581: The Italian Adriatic coast. The command of Rome's fire brigade and minor constabulary, the vigiles , was likewise reserved for equites . Not all equites followed the conventional career-path. Those equestrians who specialised in a legal or administrative career, providing judges ( iudices ) in Rome's law courts and state secretaries in the imperial government, were granted dispensation from military service by Emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117–138). At

3325-662: The Italian Renaissance but destroyed in 1796 in the wake of the French Revolution . It was originally erected at Ravenna , but moved to Pavia in the Middle Ages, where it stood on a column before the cathedral. A fragment of an equestrian portrait sculpture of Augustus has also survived. Equestrian statues were not very frequent in the Middle Ages . Nevertheless, there are some examples, like

3420-546: The Italian aristocracy to an idle, but immensely wealthy, group of landowners. During the 4th century, the status of equites was debased to insignificance by excessive grants of the rank. At the same time the ranks of senators were swollen to over 4,000 by the establishment of the Byzantine Senate (a second senate in Constantinople ) and the tripling of the membership of both senates. The senatorial order of

3515-620: The Italian confederates. A legion's modest cavalry share of 7% of its 4,500 total strength was thus increased to 12% in a confederate army, comparable with (or higher than) any other forces in Italy except the Gauls and also similar to those in Greek armies such as Pyrrhus's. Despite an ostensibly democratic constitution based on the sovereignty of the people, the Roman Republic was in reality

3610-529: The Italian-style manipular army described by Polybius. It is believed that the Romans copied the manipular structure from their enemies the Samnites, learning through hard experience its greater flexibility and effectiveness in the mountainous terrain of central Italy. It is also from this period that every Roman army that took the field was regularly accompanied by at least as many troops supplied by

3705-617: The Milanese ruler, Francesco Sforza , but was only able to create a clay model. The bronze was reallocated for military use in the First Italian War . Similar sculptures have survived in small scale: The Wax Horse and Rider ( c.  1506 –1508) is a fragmentary model for an equestrian statue of Charles d'Amboise . The Rearing Horse and Mounted Warrior in bronze was also attributed to Leonardo. Titian's equestrian portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , of 1548 applied

3800-483: The Senate had assumed total control of state taxation, expenditure, declarations of war, treaties, raising of legions, establishing colonies and religious affairs, in other words, of virtually all political power. From an ad hoc group of advisors appointed by the consuls, the Senate had become a permanent body of around 300 life peers who, as largely former Roman magistrates , boasted enormous experience and influence. At

3895-555: The United States, the rule is especially held to apply to equestrian statues commemorating the American Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg . One such statue was erected in 1998 in Gettysburg National Military Park , and is of James Longstreet , who is featured on his horse with one foot raised, even though Longstreet was not wounded in that battle. However, he was seriously wounded in

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3990-473: The Younger ), but in practice this was much more difficult than elevation from commoner to equestrian rank. To join the upper order, not only was the candidate required to meet the minimum property requirement of 250,000 denarii , but also had to be elected a member of the Senate. There were two routes for this, both controlled by the emperor: In public service, equites equo publico had their own version of

4085-515: The age of Absolutism , especially in France , equestrian statues were popular with rulers; Louis XIV was typical in having one outside his Palace of Versailles , and the over life-size statue in the Place des Victoires in Paris by François Girardon (1699) is supposed to be the first large modern equestrian statue to be cast in a single piece; it was destroyed in the French Revolution , though there

4180-481: The belief regardless. Equites The equites ( / ˈ ɛ k w ɪ t iː z / ; lit.   ' horse ' or ' cavalrymen ' , though sometimes referred to as " knights " in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome , ranking below the senatorial class . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques ( Latin: [ˈɛ.kʷɛs] ). During

4275-456: The career structure of both groups was broadly similar: a period of junior administrative posts in Rome or Roman Italy , followed by a period (normally a decade) of military service as a senior army officer, followed by senior administrative or military posts in the provinces. Senators and equites formed a tiny elite of under 10,000 members who monopolised political, military and economic power in an empire of about 60 million inhabitants. During

4370-424: The chief financial officers (also called procuratores Augusti ) of the imperial provinces, and the deputy financial officers of senatorial provinces. At Rome, equestrians filled numerous senior administrative posts such as the emperor's secretaries of state (from the time of Claudius, e.g. correspondence and treasury) and the praefecti annonae (director of grain supplies). In the military, equestrians provided

4465-484: The common people of the provinces, as unscrupulous publicani often sought to maximise their profit by demanding a much higher rates of tax than originally set by the government. The provincial governors whose duty it was to curb illegal demands were often bribed into acquiescence by the publicani . The system also led to political conflict between equites publicani and the majority of their fellow- equites , especially senators, who as large landowners wanted to minimise

4560-487: The consuls (one of whom was his own father) not to engage the enemy, Manlius could not resist accepting a personal challenge from the commander of the Tusculan cavalry, which his squadron encountered while on reconnaissance. There ensued a fiercely contested joust with the opposing squadrons as spectators. Manlius won, spearing his adversary after the latter was thrown by his horse. But when the triumphant young man presented

4655-464: The consuls; and the three decurions that led each squadron ( turma ) of legionary cavalry (a total of 30 decurions per legion). As their name implies, equites were liable to cavalry service in the legion of the mid-republic. They originally provided a legion's entire cavalry contingent, although from an early stage (probably from c. 400 and not later than c. 300 BC), when equestrian numbers had become insufficient, large numbers of young men from

4750-529: The early period to the Greek-style armoured cuirassiers described by Polybius. As a result of the demands of the Samnite hostilities, a normal consular army was doubled in size to two legions, making four legions raised annually overall. Roman cavalry in the field thus increased to approximately 1,200 horses. This now represented only 25% of the army's total cavalry contingent, the rest being supplied by

4845-532: The end of the Latin War (340–338 BC) and of the Samnite Wars (343–290) saw the transformation of the Roman Republic from a powerful but beleaguered city-state into the hegemonic power of the Italian peninsula. This was accompanied by profound changes in its constitution and army . Internally, the critical development was the emergence of the Senate as the all-powerful organ of state. By 280 BC,

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4940-455: The equestrian class, the equites (plural of eques ) or knights. There were numerous bronze equestrian portraits (particularly of the emperors) in ancient Rome , but they did not survive because they were melted down for reuse of the alloy as coin , church bells , or other, smaller projects (such as new sculptures for Christian churches); the standing Colossus of Barletta lost parts of his legs and arms to Dominican bells in 1309. Almost

5035-534: The evidence tenuous). It is widely accepted that the Roman monarchy was overthrown by a patrician coup, probably provoked by the Tarquin dynasty 's populist policies in favour of the plebeian class. Alfoldi suggests that the coup was carried out by the celeres themselves. According to the Fraccaro interpretation, when the Roman monarchy was replaced with two annually elected praetores (later called "consuls"),

5130-494: The first class of commoners were regularly volunteering for the service, which was considered more glamorous than the infantry. The cavalry role of equites dwindled after the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), as the number of equestrians became insufficient to provide the senior officers of the army and general cavalrymen as well. Equites became exclusively an officer-class, with the first class of commoners providing

5225-527: The form again to a ruler. The equestrian statue of Cosimo I de' Medici (1598) by Giambologna in the center of Florence was a life size representation of the Grand-Duke, erected by his son Ferdinand I. Ferdinand himself would be memorialized in 1608 with an equestrian statue in Piazza della Annunziata was completed by Giambologna's assistant, Pietro Tacca . Tacca's studio would produce such models for

5320-489: The founder of the Principate, Augustus (sole rule 30 BC – 14 AD) and his successors until 312. Senators' sons and further descendants technically retained equestrian rank unless and until they won a seat in the Senate. But Talbert argues that Augustus established the existing senatorial elite as a separate and superior order (ordo senatorius) to the equites for the first time. The evidence for this includes: A family's senatorial status depended not only on continuing to match

5415-445: The governorship ( praefectus Augusti ) of the province of Egypt , which was considered the most prestigious of all the posts open to equites , often the culmination of a long and distinguished career serving the state. In addition, equites were appointed to the governorship ( procurator Augusti ) of some smaller provinces and sub-provinces e.g. Judaea , whose governor was subordinate to the governor of Syria . Equestrians were also

5510-448: The heavy infantry, which was probably only 6,000 strong in the late regal period. Instead, the additional 12 centuriae were probably created at a later stage, perhaps around 400 BC, but these new units were political not military, most likely designed to admit plebeians to the Order of Knights. Apparently, equites were originally provided with a sum of money by the state to purchase a horse for military service and for its fodder. This

5605-435: The higher wealth qualification, but on their leading member holding a seat in the Senate. Failing either condition, the family would revert to ordinary knightly status. Although sons of sitting senators frequently won seats in the Senate, this was by no means guaranteed, as candidates often outnumbered the 20 seats available each year, leading to intense competition. As regards the equestrian order, Augustus apparently abolished

5700-459: The late Republican era, the collection of most taxes was contracted out to private individuals or companies by competitive tender, with the contract for each province awarded to the publicanus who bid the highest advance to the state treasury on the estimated tax-take of the province. The publicanus would then attempt to recoup his advance, with the right to retain any surplus collected as his profit. This system frequently resulted in extortion from

5795-486: The legionary cavalry. From the earliest times and throughout the Republican period, Roman equites subscribed, in their role as Roman cavalrymen, to an ethos of personal heroism and glory. This was motivated by the desire to justify their privileged status to the lower classes that provided the infantry ranks, to enhance the renown of their family name, and to augment their chances of subsequent political advancement in

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5890-472: The members of the first class of commoners were required to serve as cavalrymen. The presence of equites in the Roman cavalry diminished steadily in the period 200–88 BC as only equites could serve as the army's senior officers; as the number of legions proliferated fewer were available for ordinary cavalry service. After c. 88 BC, equites were no longer drafted into the legionary cavalry, although they remained technically liable to such service throughout

5985-658: The memorialization of a particular individual or the portrayal of general figures, notably the American cowboy or Native Americans . Such monuments can be found throughout the American Southwest. In Glasgow, the sculpture of Lobey Dosser on El Fidelio, erected in tribute to Bud Neill , is claimed to be the only two-legged equestrian statue in the world. The monument to general Jose Gervasio Artigas in Minas, Uruguay (18 meters tall, 9 meters long, 150,000 kg),

6080-517: The nineteenth or early twentieth century. In the colonial era, an equestrian statue of George III by English sculptor Joseph Wilton stood on Bowling Green in New York City . This was the first such statue in the United States, erected in 1770 but destroyed on July 9, 1776, six days after the Declaration of Independence . The 4,000-pound (1,800 kg) gilded lead statue was toppled and cut into pieces, which were made into bullets for use in

6175-469: The normal annual military levy from two to four legions, doubling the cavalry levy from 600 to 1,200 horses. Legionary cavalry started to recruit wealthier citizens from outside the 18 centuriae . These new recruits came from the first class of commoners in the Centuriate Assembly organisation, and were not granted the same privileges. By the time of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC), all

6270-406: The only sole surviving Roman equestrian bronze, the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, owes its preservation on the Campidoglio , to the popular misidentification of Marcus Aurelius , the philosopher-emperor, with Constantine the Great , the Christian emperor. The Regisole ("Sun King") was a bronze classical or Late Antique equestrian monument of a ruler, highly influential during

6365-429: The order's rolls by the Roman censors. In the late republic, the property threshold stood at 50,000 denarii and was doubled to 100,000 by the emperor Augustus (sole rule 30 BC – 14 AD) – roughly the equivalent to the annual salaries of 450 contemporary legionaries. In the later republican period, Roman senators and their offspring became an unofficial elite within the equestrian order. Under Augustus ,

6460-422: The order. Imperial equites were thus divided into two tiers: a few thousand mainly Italian equites equo publico , members of the order eligible to hold the public offices reserved for the equites ; and a much larger group of wealthy Italians and provincials (estimated at 25,000 in the 2nd century) of equestrian status but outside the order. Equestrians could in turn be elevated to senatorial rank (e.g., Pliny

6555-432: The original so-called equites equo privato , a rank that is attested throughout the history of the republic (in contrast to equites equo publico ). However, due to a lack of evidence, the origins and definition of equo privato equites remain obscure. It is widely agreed that the 12 new centuriae were open to non-patricians. Thus, from this date if not earlier, not all equites were patricians. The patricians, as

6650-513: The plinth reads 'Field Marshal Earl Haig Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France 1915–1918'. Hardiman had won the commission in competition with his fellow sculptors Gilbert Ledward and William Macmillan . His winning model showed Haig riding a classical charger befitting a hero, derived from Hardiman's studies of renaissance equestrian sculpture. The Press and Lady Haig weighed in, asking why Earl Haig could not be portrayed with realism riding his own horse, Poperinghe. Eventually Hardiman

6745-557: The produce of their own landed estates but too small to conduct large-scale sea transportation. From this time onwards, senatorial families mostly invested their capital in land. All other equestrians remained free to invest their wealth, greatly increased by the growth of Rome's overseas empire after the Second Punic War, in large-scale commercial enterprises including mining and industry, as well as land. Equestrians became especially prominent in tax farming and, by 100 BC, owned virtually all tax-farming companies ( publicani ). During

6840-460: The property requirement and who satisfied the Roman censors that they were suitable for membership. As a consequence, patricians rapidly became only a small minority of the equestrian order. However, patricians retained political influence greatly out of proportion with their numbers. Until 172 BC, one of the two consuls elected each year had to be a patrician. In addition, patricians may have retained their original six centuriae , which gave them

6935-417: The rank of equo privato , according all its members equo publico status. In addition, Augustus organised the order in a quasi-military fashion, with members enrolled into six turmae (notional cavalry squadrons). The order's governing body were the seviri ("Committee of Six"), composed of the "commanders" of the turmae . In an attempt to foster an esprit de corps amongst the equites , Augustus revived

7030-432: The regal era is plausible, as in the early republic the cavalry fielded remained 600-strong (two legions with 300 horses each). However, according to Livy, King Servius Tullius (traditional reign-dates 578–535 BC) established a further 12 centuriae of equites , a further tripling of the cavalry. Yet this was probably anachronistic, as it would have resulted in a contingent of 1,800 horse, incongruously large, compared to

7125-720: The rider and front half of the horse will be depicted. Also on a huge scale, the carvings on Stone Mountain in Georgia , the United States, are equestrian sculpture rather than true statues, the largest bas-relief in the world. The world's largest equestrian bronze statues are the Juan de Oñate statue (2006) in El Paso, Texas ; a 1911 statue in Altare della Patria in Rome ; and the statue of Jan Žižka (1950) in Prague . In many parts of

7220-407: The right shoulder was visible (as opposed to the broad stripe worn by senators. ) equites bore the title eques Romanus , were entitled to wear an anulus aureus (gold ring) on their left hand, and, from 67 BC, enjoyed privileged seats at games and public functions (just behind those reserved for senators). The Senate as a body was formed of sitting senators, whose number was held at around 600 by

7315-590: The royal army was divided equally between them for campaigning purposes, which, if true, explains why Polybius later said that a legion's cavalry contingent was 300 strong. The 12 additional centuriae ascribed by Livy to Servius Tullius were, in reality, probably formed around 400 BC. In 403 BC, according to Livy, in a crisis during the siege of Veii , the army urgently needed to deploy more cavalry, and "those who possessed equestrian rating but had not yet been assigned public horses" volunteered to pay for their horses out of their own pockets. By way of compensation, pay

7410-542: The rulers in France and Spain. His last public commission was the colossal equestrian bronze of Philip IV , begun in 1634 and shipped to Madrid in 1640. In Tacca's sculpture, atop a fountain composition that forms the centerpiece of the façade of the Royal Palace, the horse rears, and the entire weight of the sculpture balances on the two rear legs, and discreetly, its tail, a novel feat for a statue of this size. During

7505-526: The same time, the political unification of the Latin nation, under Roman rule after 338 BC, gave Rome a populous regional base from which to launch its wars of aggression against its neighbours. The gruelling contest for Italian hegemony that Rome fought against the Samnite League led to the transformation of the Roman army from the Greek-style hoplite phalanx that it was in the early period, to

7600-465: The senatorial cursus honorum , or conventional career-path, which typically combined military and administrative posts. After an initial period of a few years in local government in their home regions as administrators (local aediles or duumviri ) or as priests ( augures ), equites were required to serve as military officers for about 10 years before they would be appointed to senior administrative or military posts. Equestrians exclusively provided

7695-457: The senatorial elite was given formal status (as the ordo senatorius ) with a higher wealth threshold (250,000 denarii , or the pay of 1,100 legionaries) and superior rank and privileges to ordinary equites . During the Principate, equites filled the senior administrative and military posts of the imperial government. There was a clear division between jobs reserved for senators (the most senior) and those reserved for non-senatorial equites . But

7790-519: The spoils to his father, the latter ordered his son's immediate execution for disobeying orders. "Orders of Manlius" ( Manliana imperia ) became a proverbial army term for orders that must on no account be disregarded. In 218 BC, the lex Claudia restricted the commercial activity of senators and their sons, on the grounds that it was incompatible with their status. Senators were prohibited from owning ships of greater capacity than 300 amphorae (about seven tonnes) – this being judged sufficient to carry

7885-402: The state: consuls, praetors , aediles and quaestors . In the assembly, the citizen body was divided into 193 centuriae , or voting constituencies. Of these, 18 were allocated to equites (including patricians) and a further 80 to the first class of commoners, securing an absolute majority of the votes (98 out of 193) for the wealthiest echelon of society, although it constituted only

7980-412: The tax on land outside Italy ( tributum solis ), which was the main source of state revenue. This system was terminated by the first Roman emperor, Augustus (sole rule 30 BC – 14 AD), who transferred responsibility for tax collection from the publicani to provincial local authorities ( civitates peregrinae ). Although the latter also frequently employed private companies to collect their tax quotas, it

8075-410: The time of Hadrian, a fourth militia was added for exceptionally gifted officers, commander of an ala milliaria (double-strength ala ). Each post was held for three to four years. Most of the top posts in the imperial administration were reserved for senators, who provided the governors of the larger provinces (except Egypt), the legati legionis (legion commanders) of all legions outside Egypt, and

8170-460: The world, an urban legend states that if the horse is rearing (both front legs in the air), the rider died in battle; one front leg up means the rider was wounded in battle; and if all four hooves are on the ground, the rider died outside battle. A rider depicted as dismounted and standing next to their horse often indicates that both were killed during battle. For example, Richard the Lionheart

8265-496: Was asked to produce a second model, but in trying to accommodate his critics the sculptor produced a compromise that pleased no-one. The design went back to Cabinet and they were persuaded to allow the sculptor a free hand in executing the full-sized statue; George Lansbury wrote: "I feel confident that if your genius is unfettered you will give us a memorial worthy of the Field Marshal , the nation and yourself". The memorial

8360-430: Was assessed in an official census as meeting the property requirement of 100,000 denarii to use the title of eques and wear the narrow-striped tunic and gold ring. But such "property-qualified equites " were not apparently admitted to the ordo equester itself, but simply enjoyed equestrian status. Only those granted an equus publicus by the emperor (or who inherited the status from their fathers) were enrolled in

8455-477: Was founded by Romulus, who supposedly established a cavalry regiment of 300 men called the Celeres ("Swift Squadron") to act as his personal escort, with each of the three Roman "tribes" (actually voting constituencies) supplying 100 horses. This cavalry regiment was supposedly doubled in size to 600 men by King Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (traditional dates 616–578 BC). That the cavalry was increased to 600 during

8550-412: Was in their own interests to curb extortion. During the imperial era, tax collectors were generally paid an agreed percentage of the amount collected. equites publicani became prominent in banking activities such as money-lending and money-changing. The official dress of equestrians was the tunica angusticlavia (narrow-striped tunic), worn underneath the toga , in such a manner that the stripe over

8645-459: Was introduced for cavalry service, as it had already been for the infantry (in 406 BC). The persons referred to in this passage were probably members of the 12 new centuriae who were entitled to public horses, but temporarily waived that privilege. Mommsen, however, argues that the passage refers to members of the first class of commoners being admitted to cavalry service in 403 BC for the first time as an emergency measure. If so, this group may be

8740-415: Was known as an equus publicus . Theodor Mommsen argues that the royal cavalry was drawn exclusively from the ranks of the patricians ( patricii ), the aristocracy of early Rome, which was purely hereditary. Apart from the traditional association of the aristocracy with horsemanship, the evidence for this view is the fact that, during the republic, six centuriae (voting constituencies) of equites in

8835-649: Was the first American sculptor to overcome the challenge of casting a rider on a rearing horse. The resulting sculpture (of Jackson) was so popular he repeated it for New Orleans , Nashville , and Jacksonville . Cyrus Edwin Dallin made a specialty of equestrian sculptures of American Indians: his Appeal to the Great Spirit stands before the Museum of Fine Arts , Boston . The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial in Boston

8930-471: Was the world's largest equestrian statue until 2008. The current largest is the 40-meter-tall equestrian statue of Genghis Khan at Boldog, 54 km from Ulaanbaatar , Mongolia , where, according to legend, Genghis Khan found the golden whip . The Marjing Polo Statue , standing in the Marjing Polo Complex , Imphal East , Manipur (122 feet (37 m) tall ), completed in 2022–23,

9025-463: Was unveiled by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester on 10 November 1937, with King George VI laying a wreath at the base the following day, Armistice Day . The memorial has received some support in recent years but has also found itself the target of criticism. In the run-up to Remembrance Day 1998 the Daily Express attacked the memorial on its front page, asking "Why do we let this man cast

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