Roman triumphal honours (Latin: ''insignia'' or ''ornamenta triumphalia'') denotes honours awarded during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

to a victorious general in lieu of a full

Roman triumph The Roman triumph (') was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or, in some historical t ...

. After 14 BC, it became the policy of the founder-emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, and of his successors, to grant full Triumphs only to members of their own ruling

Julio-Claudian The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire, from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emper ...

dynasty. As a substitute, victorious generals who were unrelated to the imperial house were awarded ''insignia'' (or ''ornamenta'') ''triumphalia''. That is, the dress and privileges traditionally granted to a ''triumphator'', without the elaborate triumphal procession through Rome at the head of his troops.

Insignia

The honours included the right to wear triumphal dress in public: the ''corona triumphalis'' (a gold

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

fashioned in the shape of a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

with dangling gold ribbons); an ivory

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conducti ...

; the ''tunica palmata'' (a

tunic A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...

embroidered with palm-leaves); and the ''toga picta'' ("painted toga"), a

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

which was dyed entirely purple with embroidered gold border, a robe believed originally to have been the official dress of the

Roman kings The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hil ...

. The only other Romans entitled to wear these garments were the emperor himself, the two

Consuls A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in office and other

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

when presiding over games. In addition, a bronze statue of the beneficiary of triumphal honours was erected in the

Forum of Augustus The Forum of Augustus (; ) is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus (). It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after they were first vowed. History The ...

. The beneficiary also had the right to display a further statue of himself in triumphal attire in the vestibule of his own house, which could also be displayed by his descendants.

Later history

Triumphal honours became debased in the latter part of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

' rule and under

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

(r. 54–68), who awarded them to

delator Delator (plural: ''delatores'', feminine: ''delatrix'') is Latin for a denouncer, one who indicates to a court another as having committed a punishable deed. Secular Roman law In Roman history, it was properly one who gave notice (''deferre' ...

s (spies used by these emperors to denounce out-of-favour senators for treason), as well as to military victors. But they were restored to distinction by

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

(r. 69–79) who had himself been awarded such honors by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

during the invasion of Britain. Under the Antonines (98–180), the winners of triumphal honours lost the right to wear triumphal dress, which was now reserved for the Consuls and for the emperors themselves, but retained the privilege of a public statue.

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

(r. 117–138) awarded ornamenta triumphalia to

Sextus Julius Severus Gnaeus Minicius Faustinus Sextus Julius Severus was an accomplished Roman general of the 2nd century. He also held the office of suffect consul in the last three months of 127 with Lucius Aemilius Juncus as his colleague. Biography Julius Seve ...

and other generals after the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD) was a major uprising by the Jews of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea against the Roman Empire, marking the final and most devastating of the Jewish–Roman wars. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the rebels succeeded ...

. W. Eck. 1999
''The Bar Kokhba Revolt: The Roman Point of View''
The Journal of Roman Studies, vol 89, pp. 76-89. The bronze monument to Francis II, the last Holy Roman emperor, in the inner courtyard of the

Hofburg Palace The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the im ...

in Vienna depicts him wearing a ''corona triumphalis'' and toga. His facial feature also evoke

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

Citations

{{Reflist

References

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' is an English language encyclopedia first published in 1842. The second, improved and enlarged, edition appeared in 1848, and there were many revised editions up to 1890. The encyclopedia covered law ...

(1890) Military awards and decorations of ancient Rome

Insignia

Later history

See also

Citations

References