Of the loyalty of the 10th [legion], Caesar had no doubt, and he told the legion that it should serve as his bodyguard. This led to a celebrated event. When, in that same year, 58 BC, Caesar agreed to a parley with a German king, Ariovistus, and the king stipulated that both leaders should only bring a mounted escort to the meeting, Caesar grew suspicious of his own allied Gallic cavalry. Telling the cavalrymen to dismount, Caesar gave their horses to the infantrymen of the 10th, on whose devotion he felt he could rely absolutely.
In response to this, one of the legionaries of the 10th remarked, no doubt with a grin, ‘Caesar is being better than his word. He promised to make the 10th his bodyguard, and now he’s making Equestrians of us!’
The Equestrians that the soldier was referring to were the Equestrian Order.
Note for context:
The Equestrians were something of a social class, sort of the second-highest social standing in Roman society (for a very loose parallel, think something like upper-middle class?). In the early Republic era, the Equestrians were the order known for riding horses, thus the word’s association with horses today. Many historians often draw a parallel between the Equestrian order and Medieval knights.
Source:
Dando-Collins, Stephen. “Part II: The Legions – 10th Fretensis Legion.” Legions of Rome: The Definitive History of Every Imperial Roman Legion. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012. 153. Print.
Original Source Listed:
Caes., GW, I, 40, 42.
Further Reading:
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