The Roman Triumph: Symbolic Dissemination of Victory
Triumphal processions and festivities served as ancient propaganda and ensured public confidence in the image of the ruling party. This triumphant sentiment was spread through extravagant celebrations as well as through symbolic objects that travelled the empire. The processions are well-documented and understood today. While the ceremonies altogether included multiple steps, from the days of supplication and preparation to the victory games that followed, the triumph itself was the "core of imperial victory celebrations."[1] The surviving objects from this period demonstrate the intricate nature of the processions.
This ancient object represents a larger series of commemorative coins that announced the triumph of Emperor Vespasian and his military general and son, Titus, who later became the Roman Emperor. The father and son had become the victors of the First Jewish-Roman War, also known as the Great Revolt, in 70 CE after several years of conflict.[2] Their military success, while devastating for the Jews, was a hugely important event for the image of the Roman Empire that Vespasian wanted to celebrate. This object also represents the grander process of "triumphing" and the preparations that went into the ceremony because the series was released as a means of announcing the triumph throughout the empire.[3]
On the front of this specific coin is Vespasian's profile surrounded by his name in Latin (Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus). The reverse of the coin features a Jewish prisoner sitting in front of a trophy of arms, with the word "Judaea" below. These coins often depict personifications of Judaea itself in mourning as a way to deepen the Roman hold over the Jews.[4] Such imagery juxtaposes the strength of the emperor with the defeated rebels and thus this coin, and others like it, served to affirm the Romans' faith in their emperor as well as intimidate the imperial subjects who otherwise might have planned similar revolts in the future.
This next object, a relief from the triumphal arch of Marcus Aurelius originally constructed in 176 CE, depicts his triumph after defeating the Germanic peoples and Sarmatians. Unlike with the coin, which depicts Vespasian's victory yet precedes the actual ceremony, this relief focuses on the event of the triumph by depicting Marcus Aurelius on a four-horse chariot as it enters Rome through an arch--this act typically started the triumphal processions. To further this, an individual to his rightsounds an instrument as a sort of opening fanfare.[5]
On the chariot itself, which is particularly large, are images of deities who are relevant to his success; these are Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, and Neptune, who was a patron of horses. These mythological figures surround the personification of Rome, demonstrating the favor of the gods over the city. Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, appears above Marcus Aurelius and is crowning him.[6] All of these aspects suggest the emperor's greatness and ability to defend the glory of Rome.
Triumphs in Rome were not mere victories--they were deliberate expressions of power. Objects such as this coin and relief established a precedent for the following centuries of triumphs and victorious imagery, as will be demonstrated throughout this exhibit.
[1] McCormick, Michael, Eternal Victory: Triumphal Rulership in Late Antiquity, Byzantium, and the Early Medieval West, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 13-14.
[2] For more information, please see: Telushkin, Joseph, "Ancient Jewish History: The Great Revolt (66-70 CE)," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed May 10, 2016.
[3] McCormick, Eternal Victory, 14.
[4] The Jewish Museum, New York, CULTURE AND CONTINUITY: THE JEWISH JOURNEY, November 22, 1999 - present.
[5] "Panel Reliefs of Marcus Aurelius and Roman Imperial Iconography," SUNY ONEONTA, accessed May 10, 2016.
[6] Ibid.