Claiming Triumphs for Recovered Territories: Reflections on Valerius Maximus 2.8.4

In the fourth section of his famous summary of Roman triumphal custom (‘de iure triumphi’, 2.8), Valerius Maximus asserts that there existed a principle that the public triumph could only be awarded to those whose victories had increased the Roman dominion rather than merely recovered that which had once been Roman, citing as examples the failed triumphal petitions of Q. Fulvius Flaccus (cos. 237, 224, 212, 209) and L. Opimius (cos. 121) in 211 and 125 respectively. Although the evidence suggests that this can hardly have been a universally applicable and ongoing requirement, this case study endeavours to show that, while there are flaws in Valerius’ (manifestly biased) representation and he indiscriminately conflates conventions and rules that emerged and evolved over several centuries, there remains historical value in this passage. In discussing these and a few other relevant triumphs (esp. those of M. Claudius Marcellus in 211, Q. Fabius Maximus in 209 and Cn. Pompeius Strabo in 89), this study sheds further light on Valerius Maximus' precis of triumphal law and on how the Senate appraised Roman victories over disloyal allied communities. Rather than being simply incorrect or unhistorical, the “pro aucto imperio” principle indicates a particular development in Roman triumphal practice, as the Senate had to justify its decisions in the face of quite specific geopolitical circumstances.