Triumphal insignia , or triumphal adornment ( lat. Insignia or ornamenta triumphalia ) - the highest award of the ancient Roman commanders in the era of the empire .
Content
Description
Triumphal insignia included the right to wear the garment of a triumphant: purple toga picta ( lat. Toga picta ), tunic decorated with golden palm branches ( lat. Tunica palmata ) [1] , and a golden wreath ( lat. Corona triumphalis ) made in the form of a laurel wreath tied with ribbons. The bronze statue of the commander was installed on the forum ; he had the right to establish the same statue in his house.
History
In the Republican era, the highest form of honoring the victorious commander was triumph - the solemn entry into the capital with the permission of the Senate of the commander and his army, furnished with religious ceremonies. With the establishment of the empire, the emperor himself began to be considered the supreme commander of all armies, and gradually it became customary to only triumph him and the members of the dynasty. The first triumphal distinction without triumph as such was most likely the future emperor Tiberius , stepson of Augustus , who did not yet have heir status [3] . Suetonius reports that for the long reign of Augustus more than thirty generals were awarded a full triumph and “even more” - triumphal insignia [4] .
At the end of the reign of Tiberius and the reign of Nero, the prestige of the award seriously fell due to the fact that it was awarded not only for military merits, but also to scammers who helped to deal with the enemies of the emperor. Vespasian returned her former status. Under the Antonins, those awarded lost their right to wear the robes of a triumph, but retained the privilege of erecting a statue.
Interesting Facts
- During the reign of Claudius Gnei, Domitius Korbulon received triumphal insignia for the construction of a canal between the Meuse and the Rhine by his legions, and Quintus Curtius Rufus for the construction of a silver mine on the lands of the Mattiaks. The warriors of the latter were so tired of working under difficult conditions that they secretly made a petition to the emperor to give triumphal distinctions in advance to anyone he was going to put at the head of the army [5] .
- In the year of the four emperors, Gaius Licinius, Mucianus, triumphal insignia were granted for his contribution to the coming to power of Vespasian . But since it was impossible to reward for victory in a civil war (this would mean that the commander was awarded for the destruction of his fellow citizens), a campaign against barbarians ( Sarmatians or Dacians ) was declared the reason for the award [6] .
See also
- Ovation (Ancient Rome)
- Fasti triumphales
Notes
- ↑ Kolobov A. V. Appendix 3. Latin-Russian military dictionary (era of principle) // Roman legions outside the battlefield (Age of the early Empire): Textbook. special course allowance / Scientific. Editor I.L. Mayak . - Perm: Perm. Univ., 1999 .-- 132 s. - 300 copies. - ISBN 5-7944-0114-1 .
- ↑ Image in the Meyer Encyclopedic Dictionary (1885-1890, p. 285).
- ↑ Guy Suetonius Tranquill. The life of the twelve Caesars . Tiberius, 9.
- ↑ Guy Suetonius Tranquill. The life of the twelve Caesars. Divine Augustus, 38.
- ↑ Cornelius Tacitus . Annals , XI, 20.
- ↑ Cornelius Tacitus. History , IV, 4.
Literature
- Valerie A. Maxfield. The Military Decorations of the Roman Army . - Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1981. - 304 p. - ISBN 0-520-04499-1 .