Magister equitum
| Politics of the Roman Republic | ||||||||||
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| 509 – 27 BC | ||||||||||
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| Magistrates and officials | ||||||||||
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The magister equitum, in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nominated to respond to other crises, so the magister equitum could operate independently of the cavalry; like the dictator, the appointment of a magister equitum served both military and political purposes.