Late Republican Triumph: Continuity and Change

The Late Republic saw transformations of conventions across a wide range
of political phenomena and rituals, including that of the most prestigious of all war rituals, the triumph. During the Republic the triumph served as a medium for negotiating status and prestige within a highly competitive aristocratic society, whereas during the Principate it was a medium for negotiating status and prestige under a monarchy. This chapter seeks to address certain issues relevant to later Imperial developments: turning points in Late Republican triumphal history, the granting of triumphs in absentia, monopolisation of the triumph, triumphal competition and civil war. This promises to shed light on the political impact of the Late Republican triumph. Scholarly consensus suggests that the Augustan period was a turning point in the history of the Roman triumph. While this is undoubtedly true, there were other key processes and moments during the Late Republic. This chapter will argue that Imperial triumphs cannot and should not be isolated from the Late Republican transformation of the Roman triumph.