High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Roman equestrian order (Latin: ordo equester) constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians (patricii), a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era (to 501 BC) and during the early Republic (to 338 BC). A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques (plural: equites). Equites in Latin has the general meaning of "horsemen" or "cavalry" (from equus = "horse"), but in this context carries the specific meaning of "knights" in the sense of members of an aristocratic group. To avoid confusion, this article refers to the latter as "knights" or "equestrians".