Equestrian

The word equestrian is a reference to horseback riding, derived from Latin equester and equus, "horse". Notable examples of this are:

Equites

The Equites (Latin: eques nom. singular; sometimes called "knights" in modern times because of the involvement of horses) constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians (patricii), a hereditary caste that monopolized political power during the regal era (753 to 509 BC) and during the early Republic (to 338 BC). A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques (plural: equites).

During the Roman kingdom and the 1st century of the Republic, legionary cavalry was recruited exclusively from the ranks of the patricians, who were expected to provide 6 centuriae 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 the normal annual military levy from 2 to 4 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 organisation and were not granted the same privileges.

Book of the Month Club

The Book of the Month Club (founded 1926) is a United States subscription eCommerce book club that offers a limited number of new books each month to members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, similar to how the club originally operated when it began in 1926, and members can also discuss the books with fellow members in an online discussion forum.

The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company called Bookspan that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc. In 2000, that company merged with Doubleday Direct, Inc. The resulting company, Bookspan, was a joint venture between Time Warner and Bertelsmann until 2007 when Bertelsmann took over complete ownership. Approximately six weeks after it acquired complete ownership of Bookspan, Bertelsmann initiated a major overhaul of the book club business, a process that eliminated 280 positions, or about 15% of its workforce of 1900. Many of the specialty book clubs, such as the conservative book club American Compass, were eliminated.