Triumphal Arches of Titus,
Septimius Severus, and Constantine

Is the arch a triumphal arch?

Although the Arch of Titus is referred to as a triumphal arch – after all, it is decorated with scenes from his triumphal procession in AD 71 – the circumstances under which it was built show that the arch was more a tribute to Titus himself than to his triumph. Triumphal arches were typically built shortly after the triumph since both were granted after exceptional military service to Rome and essentially served to advertise to the Roman people the general or emperor receiving the triumph.[6]

The Arch of Titus, however, was built after Titus’ death. The eastern inscription exalts Divo Tito, or divine Titus. Deification only occurred after the death of an emperor. The center ceiling coffer depicts Titus leaving earth for heaven on the back of an eagle.

In this way, the arch is a monument to Titus’ life and death yet for traditional form focuses on one of the more important events in his life: his triumph in AD 71.

Date of construction

The building of the arch is usually attributed to Domitian, Titus’ brother and succeeding emperor. He may have constructed the arch in order to reinforce the idea of his nobility and right to hold the principate.[7] Being of the Flavian family, Domitian did not descend from an aristocratic family but from a line of tradesmen.[7] While not having nobility on their side, Vespasian and Titus did have fame and military success to affirm their rule, but Domitian only had his blood connection to claim the emperorship. It may have been political necessity for him to demonstrate his divine lineage to allay tension with the aristocratic senate.

Also, Domitian may himself be shown on the arch as a mounted youth in the triumph.[8] However, Domitian suffered damnatio memoriae, or the eradication of most everything naming or referring to him, after his death.[8] It is unlikely that Domitian would be shown on a monument built after his death.

Alternatively, Domitian did loathe his brother.[7] If not driven out of necessity to build a monument to his brother, he probably would not. The Arch to Titus then would have been built after Domitian had been overthrown and replaced with Nerva and later Trajan in an attempt to “forget” about Domitian and remember how good Titus was in comparison.

Roma vs. Virtus

The female figure leading Titus’ quadriga is typically identified as Roma, the goddess personification of the city of Rome herself. However, how can Roma lead Titus from outside into herself?[8] This is a tricky question about a very specific matter in the Roman religion, and it might simply not be answerable with what we know. Continuing with the thought, though, if not Roma then the figure may be Virtus. Of course, if Roma is not Roma then perhaps the young male walking beside Titus is not the personification of the Roman people; perhaps he is the concomitant Honos.[8] Making identifications of figures is often not much more than guesswork.

If Honos and Virtus are accompanying Titus, this only bolsters the view of the arch being a monument to Titus as a virtuous man in life and death rather than to specific military actions of his.