ius anuli aurei

The right to wear a gold ring was originally a military distinction ( Verr. iii. 80, 187), and was ultimately the prerogative of the knights (equites) of the military tribune (App. Pun. 104), and also of such senators as were nobiles or had served as legati. The right was also granted as a special privilege to individuals by the military commanders and provincial governors, and carried with it all the dignities of knighthood. Thus Sulla gave the anulus aureus to the actor Roscius (Macrob. Sat. ii. 10). Under the Empire, the emperor bestowed the ius anuli at will. See Lange, Röm. Alterth. ii. 8, 163; Marquardt, Privatleben, 680 foll., and Herbert Spencer's Ceremonial Institutions, ch. ix.