Pomerium  Triumphus Romanæ

The Roman Pomerium & Triumph

James L. Carrig

his-3323-1

Dr. J. Smith

02 April 2019
 Carrig 2

Rome was founded on a murder. According to legend 1, the twin sons of Mars, Romulus

and Remus started two nearby settlements on the Tiber River. They agreed that the ideal loca-

tion for a new city would be amongst a set of seven hills, but they disagreed as to which hill and

for different reasons. Remus, favouring the greater economic opportunity offered by river ac-

cessibility for the new city, opted for the Aventine Hill close to the Tiber, while Romulus, mind-

ing military security, selected the Palatine Hill, centrally-located among the seven hills. The

brothers’ clashing choices erupted into a full-scale argument between them and their respective

factions. Without the possibility of reaching a consensus, the two agreed to go to their respective

hills and wait for a sign from the gods to settle the dispute. After making animal sacrifices, Remus

on the Aventine Hill spotted six vultures flying overhead. The vulture, being a scavenging war-

rior, was the bird of Mars, the boys’ claimed father. Believing this to be in his favour, Remus

proceeded to inform his brother that the Aventine had received a sign from the gods. Romulus

retorted that his hill had just received a sign of twelve vultures landing on the Palatine. Though

twelve is greater than six and landing on is better than flying over, Remus was convinced that

since his sign occurred first, the gods preferred his hill. Once again, the brothers found argument

to be futile and Remus returned to the Aventine. Romulus, in the meantime, began construction

on the Palatine Hill. He commenced digging a trench around the hill to serve as the foundation

of the city’s wall. Angered at seeing Romulus’ construction, Remus and his faction crossed Rom-

ulus’ trench (possibly wielding weapons) to confront the other group. Another argument broke

out, but rather than leaving, the Aventine faction began fighting the Palatine faction. According

1 Ovid, Fasti, iv.

 Carrig 3

to tradition, Romulus struck the fatal blow to Remus. Winning the dispute, Romulus established

his city on the Palatine Hill and named it Roma after himself. Regardless of the questionable

historicity of the events related to the mythical founding of Rome, the trench dug at the bottom

of the Palatine Hill became the cornerstone of the Roman legal system.

With that trench, Romulus began the construction of a pomerium. Scholars debate the ex-

act definition and function of pomerii and have dedicated myriads of pages to its exploration.

This paper attempts to consolidate the commonly accepted interpretation of Rome’s Pomerium

and its political function. A pomerium, derived from the words post and mœrium, meaning “behind

the wall,” signified the dividing line between a city and the countryside. 2 Most notable cities on

the Italian peninsula had pomerii, but Rome’s played a unique and critical role in its legal sys-

tem.3 This line was made by ploughing a furrow with a bull in the ground, usually on an auspi-

cious day, around the walls of the city: the sulcus Primigenius, the “original furrow.”4 The city built

its main defensive wall in the trench. A gap in the furrow made by lifting the plough indicated

gates.5 One could enter the city only through the gates; in Roman law, crossing at any other

point (à la Remus) constituted an automatic death sentence. 6 Though integral to the process, the

ploughing bull would be sacrificed in dedication of the trench. Planning of the crop fields around

the city commenced immediately following the furrow’s establishment. “Urbis” in Latin means

“city,” a word which offshoots from “orbis,” meaning circle. Romulus’ original boundary,

2 Festus, The Sulcus Primigenius, 236 Mü.; Tac., Ann.,xii.24.

3 Lee, Pursuing the Pomerium.
4 Varro, De Lingua Latina, V, p.143.; Dion., Hal. AR. I.88
5 Dion. Hal., AR. I.88; Plut. Rom. 11; Serv. ad Aen. V.755.
6 Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, I.7.
 Carrig 4

referred to as Roma Quadrata, formed a square defence around the Palatine Hill.7 The law con-

sidered anything within the Pomerium as the city and everything outside the ager Romanus, the

Field of Rome. The Senate empowered Consuls to move the Pomerium outward as Rome ex-

panded.8 Tacitus records extensions made by Servius Tullius, Sulla, and Julius Cæsar. 9 Continu-

ally expanding the barrier around the growing city, however, became inconvenient, so Vespasian

set it at a limited size in A.D. 79 around four hills of Rome: the Esquiline, the Palatine, the Quir-

inal, and the Capitoline.10 At the city’s beginning, an actual wall served as the Pomerium. Even-

tually, the physical wall devolved into a legal wall (a conceptual boundary) with 139 sacred pillars,

cippi, marking its outline between buildings.11 Much of the metropolitan area of Rome existed

outside of the Pomerium, but it denoted the boundary of the official city. Unfortunately, scarce

archaeological evidence prevents the determination of the Pomerium’s exact dimensions. Local

Romans definitely understood the significance of the pillars, and outsiders unquestioningly con-

formed and entered only through the gates. Plutarch in Vitæ Parallelæ tells us how, during a Tri-

umph, Gnæus Pompeius Magnus attempted and failed to enter a gate in the Pomerium with el-

ephants.12 None of his party thought to go around the gate, even though it would make it easier

for the elephants to get through. The tradition and law of the Pomerium ingrained itself so

deeply into the Roman consciousness that violating it, even for a Consul’s Triumph, was literally

unthinkable.

7 Platner, The Pomerium and Roma Quadrata, p. 421.

8 Homo, Roman Political Institutions, p. 231.
9 Boatright, Tacitus, p. 38.
10 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pomerium.; Boatwright, Tacitus, pp. 36-37.
11 Beard, Religions of Rome, I.4.1; Boatwright, Tacitus, p. 38.
12 Plut., Vitæ Parallelæ, Pompey.
 Carrig 5

The Pomerium dominated Roman political life. Prætors and Consuls were expected to

carry out the daily civic operations of Rome, such as legislation, administration, court cases, re-

ligious rights, etc., within the Pomerium, but this was not imperium. As argued by Fred K.

Drogula, the power to give commands and compel obedience, called imperium, could only be

exercised outside the city of Rome. The Roman legal concept of potestas more accurately de-

scribes the domestic powers held by Consuls and Prætors within the city. Every magistrate pos-

sessed a limited form of potestas as required by their respective office.13 Within the wall, the reg-

ular laws of the city of Rome constrained them, but outside, Prætors and Consuls acted in militiæ,

or “on campaign,” and wielded absolute power over life and death. 14 One can therefore view the

Pomerium as the division between the military and the civil world. The behaviour of Lictors, the

protective guards of Prætors (with two of them), Consuls (with twelve), and Dictators (with

twenty-four), embodied this distinction. Lictors always carried fasces, a bundle of sticks, to sym-

bolise their respective officials’ power. When on campaign, the Lictors added an axe head to the

fasces to advertise the officials’ expanded power, but within the city they removed the axe heads

(except for Dictators). The Pomerium afforded the Senate and citizens the protection of due

legal process, preventing the abuse of power. In addition, litigants could later challenge any of-

ficial’s ruling after he left office; the Pomerium secured the possibility of subsequent appeals. As

a rule, the absolute powers of campaign did not factor into daily civil life but were extremely

useful in an emergency, such as a revolt.

13 Drogula, Imperium, pp. 419-424.

14 Boatwright, The Romans, p. 55.
 Carrig 6

When governors and generals, called by the Romans “Proconsuls” and “Proprætors,”

crossed the Pomerium, their imperium evaporated instantly. They could not command troops

while within the city. Occasionally, the Senate needed an active general to advise them, so they

would have to meet at a public building, like a temple, outside the city. During the late 50s B.C.

in the time before the civil war, Pompey, being on campaign, could not enter the city without

losing his command and the Senate needed to meet with him. Thus, they had to go to different

public buildings outside the city to consult Pompey. In 61 B.C., construction began on the The-

atrum Pompeii, the Theatre of Pompey, which was outside the Pomerium in the Campus Martius,

the Field of Mars, located to the west of the city; allowing promagistrates and Senators to meet

without the loss of imperium. 15 It was in this building that Servilius Casca and his co-conspirators

murdered Julius Cæsar on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.

Politicians had to enter the Pomerium to declare their candidacy for office in person. If

an active general wished to declare their candidacy, they would have to come to Rome and re-

linquish their command. Going back to the civil war, an impending question was that of what

would happen to Cæsar when he crossed the Pomerium. Relinquishing his command would result

in banishment or death, so he crossed the Rubicon with the Thirteenth Legion; causing the civil

war.16 This same rule stripping generals of military command also applied to soldiers. Strictly

speaking, there were not supposed to be soldiers on the Italian peninsula, meaning no individual

could claim to be acting on behalf of the Roman State while within the city. Violating the

15 Plut., Vitæ Parallelæ, Pompey.

16 Id., Cæsar.
 Carrig 7

Pomerium was considered an invasion of Rome, rendering the violator an enemy of the State.

Following from this, weapons were also banned within the Pomerium. Gladii and pila, obviously,

were strictly prohibited, but lesser weapons, such as clubs and daggers, were less firmly screened

and often appeared at riots and brawls.

The rules of the Pomerium did not apply to Dictators. Appointed by the Senate for six

months in times of emergency, Dictators’ actions could not be vetoed, and their military com-

mand did not vanish by crossing the Pomerium; allowing him to command soldiers within the

city.17 A Dictator’s twenty-four Lictors kept their axe head fasces while in the city to symbolise

his constant unchecked power. Seeing armed Lictors within the city signalled the severity of the

emergency to the citizenry and was a shocking sight. Another emergency measure used by the

Senate was the Senatus Consultum Ultimum, “The Final Act.”18 It empowered the Consuls to de-

fend the Republic by any means necessary, meaning they could ignore statutes, including those

of the Pomerium. Dictators’ absolute control of the law with no Senate oversight severely dis-

rupted life in Rome. The Final Act, however, unsettled Rome less by allowing Consuls to ignore

rather than change the law under the oversight of the Senate. The most famous example of this

came in 63 B.C. when the Senate authorised the Consuls to put down a conspiracy of coup d'état.

Cicero captured five of the conspirators and executed them without a trial in the Forum. 19 Nor-

mally, executing citizens within Rome proper was extremely illegal, but via the Final Act, Cicero

17 Homo, Roman Political Institutions, pp. 158, 203

18 Ibid., p. 181.
19 Plut., Vitæ Parallelæ, Cicero.
 Carrig 8

was permitted to break the law for the protection of the Republic. However, this highly of-

fended the Roman people and Cicero payed a high political price for doing so.

The rules of the Pomerium also extended to elections. To vote for Consuls and Prætors,

the Comitia Centuriata, or Assembly of the Centuries, divided into metaphorical military units

which voted together. Just as soldiers and Proconsuls were not permitted within the Pomerium,

metaphorical soldiers and the Consuls overseeing them were also not allowed within the city. On

election days, the voting population exited the Pomerium and went to the Campus Martius to

assemble in Centuries under the oversight of the on-campaign Consuls. The Field of Mars was

located to the west of Rome and was reserved for all military activity, real or metaphorical. Since

one could only exit the Pomerium through one of the gates, traffic bottlenecked on election

days. Wealthy voters could leave the city early and stay in one of their villas near the Field, but

lower-class voters had to take the entire day just to get through the traffic. Inconvenient voting

disincentivised lower class participation in elections. The Pomerium created the class disparity in

Roman political influence and policy.

For centuries, the Pomerium separated Rome’s military from its government and pre-

vented ambitious generals from entering the city with an army, apart from one massive excep-

tion: the Triumph. This was Rome’s highest honour bestowed only to its most illustrious gen-

erals. It was the apex of a political career; solidifying the Triumphator’s position among Rome’s

most powerful politician.20 Quite simply, a Triumph was a big parade. The Senate granted a

20 Beard, The Roman Triumph, p. 42.

 Carrig 9

general and his army special permission for one day to cross the Pomerium and enter Rome. To

warrant a Triumph, a general needed to conquer new territory for the Empire and be hailed by

his troops as Imperator, literally “one who commands.” Before the Triumph, generals were al-

lowed to add this title to their name (e.g. Marcus Fulvius Flaccus Imperator). 21 After fulfilling

the previous two qualifications, the general returned to Rome and requested to formally met

with the Senate outside of the Pomerium. If the Senate agreed to meet with the general, he pre-

sented a list of accomplishments and requested to cross the Pomerium “under Triumph.” Central

to the Triumph was the concept of the Pomerium. Next, the Senate voted and, if they approved

the request for a Triumph, sent the motion to the Plebeian Assembly. Once the Assembly ap-

proved of the Triumph, the general was authorised to cross the Pomerium and retain command

over his army for one day. Many generals conquered new territory and were not hailed as Impe-

rator. Many Imperators did not get to meet with the Senate, such as in 60 B.C. when Gaius Julius

Cæsar Imperator requested to meet with the Senate but was delayed by Cato the Elder until after

that year’s elections. Cato hoped that the prospect of a Triumph would prevent Cæsar from run-

ning for Consul. Despite expectations, Cæsar sacrificed the Triumph and crossed the Pomerium

(thus voiding his command) to stand for election, which he won handsomely. As one can see by

the long and complicated process to receive a Triumph, a general had to be the right man at the

right time to earn one.

The Triumph itself was a massive propaganda parade paired with religious ritual. The

citizens of Rome considered the day a public holiday and shut down all business to attend the

21 Ibid., p. 225.
 Carrig 10

festivities. The first section of the parade had wagons with dioramas and illustrations of the new

territory conquered by the Triumphator. Average Romans were ignorant of the outside world,

and this served to educate the masses as to the reason for the parade. If possible, exotic animals

from the territory accompanied the wagons: the weirder, the better. Giraffes and elephants al-

ways intrigued the crowd due to their massive size and unusual physiology. More wagons fol-

lowed depicting battles in which the Triumphator exemplified Roman military prowess and led

his armies to victory over the land previously depicted. 22 After the visual propaganda wagons

came monetary propaganda with the spoils of war on display. Artefacts from sacked cities, ex-

pensive clothing, precious metals, and coins amongst other riches were shown to the public. Pris-

oners of war also marched behind the wagons full of plunder, and their fate at the end of the

parade was gruesome. Having a foreign monarch or chieftain march in full regalia was especially

impressive for a general’s Triumph.23 This first procession of wagons presented a clear narrative

to the Roman people: an exotic place and people being conquered by Rome, resulting in treas-

ures flowing into the city.

Once the educational wagons passed, the Triumphant general rode in on a gold and pur-

ple chariot, bejewelled with charms, pulled by four white stallions. 24 The general wore a purple

toga, evoking the image of royalty.25 Romans hated kings and prided themselves on their repub-

lican system, so this choice of dress seems counterintuitive. Magistrates were allowed to wear a

22 Ibid., pp. 145, 188.

23 Ibid., pp. 109-110.
24 Ibid., p. 223.
25 Ibid., p. 228.
 Carrig 11

purple stripe on their togas, connecting their powers to those of the old monarchy, but a fully

purple robe would be garish. Further, the face of the Triumphator was painted red, symbolising

the chief god, Jupiter.26 It was said that only the gods could violate the Pomerium, which possibly

justified why the people allow the Triumph. A laurel crown sat on the head of the general, which

was associated with the god Apollo and symbolised victory. Laurel crowns were presented to

winners of races and competitions along with elected officials. In his hands, the general carried

the branch from a laurel bush and an ivory sceptre. The combination of royal and divine imagery

established the general’s high status among the people. 27 In some accounts of Triumphs, a slave

stood behind the general on the chariot holding a golden crown above his head while whispering

“Remember, you are human” into his ear. If this custom was employed, it was only during the

late Republic to early Empire. The reminder of humility enforced Roman virtues. Behind the

chariot followed members of the general’s extended family. The prestige of appearing in a Tri-

umph often started the political careers of younger male relatives of the general. If women at-

tended, it was only to demonstrate the role of a virtuous wife or mother.

When the Senate gave the general permission to cross the Pomerium under Triumph,

they implicitly gave the same permission to the general’s army. Soldiers comprised the final stage

of the Triumph parade. Returning from years on campaign to their home city practically eradi-

cated discipline in the ranks, ensuing in a rowdy and merry band of soldiers entering the city.

The soldiers often sang vulgar songs about the general, and the lyrics to the one they sang at

26 Ibid., p. 226.
27 Ibid., p. 221.
 Carrig 12

Julius Cæsar’s Triumph have been preserved. With some differences depending on translation,

the song went as follows: “Romans, watch your wives, here is the bald adulterous whore (i.e.

Cæsar). We [pissed] away your gold in Gaul and come to borrow more.”28 Other versions of the

song imply that the money was spent on prostitutes by substituting the word “pissed” with a

crass reference to fornication. Though rude, the people of Rome found the songs humorous and

tolerated the insolence. The Triumph celebrated the conquering soldiers as much as the con-

quering general.29

The Triumph procession began at the Circus Flaminius in the Campus Martius, entered

through the uniquely decorated Triumphal Gate at the base of the Capitoline Hill (through

which Pompey failed to get his elephant pulled chariot), and proceeded down the packed streets

of Rome. Reaching the Circus Maximus, the roar from the over 150,000 spectators would have

been audible to the entire city. Next, the parade deliberately traced the outline of Romulus’

original Pomerium at the base of the Palatine Hill and continued down the Via Sacra, the “Sacred

Road,” which was home to the city’s many temples. At the pinnacle of the road sat the Temple

to Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Soldiers then brought those aforementioned foreign prisoners to

the foot of the temple, where they were ceremonially strangled to death. By modern standards,

this religious execution before a cheering crowd would be considered a war crime. Many prison-

ers committed suicide to avoid the humiliation of being ritualistically murdered in the Triumph.

Romans claimed not to believe in human sacrifice, but this ritual spoke otherwise. With its

28 Deutsch, Cæsar’s Triumphs, p. 101

29 Ibid., p. 259.
 Carrig 13

proximity to the largest temple in Rome and occurrence in tribute to a general dressed as a god-

king, an interpretation of this event as human sacrifice could be argued. After the public stran-

gulation, the Triumphator ascended the steps of the temple and slit the throats of two white

bulls in honour of the god Jupiter. At the conclusion of the Triumph, the religious officials of

the city presented the Triumphator and his entourage with a massive feast. The rest of the city

also enjoyed separate feasts in their homes and communities. 30 The general returned to his home

in the city for the evening, and in the morning, pursuant to the laws of the Pomerium, his per-

mission from the Senate expired and his military command evaporated. Several days of feasts,

games, horse races, and many other festivities followed the Triumph, most of which were per-

sonally funded by the ex-Triumphator, further increasing his popularity.

Over the seven centuries of the Republic, Triumphs occurred on average every three to

four years. The practice was faded out, however, with the rise of the Emperors in the late first

century A.D. Emperors found elevating anyone outside the Imperial family to the status of a

god-king to be problematic for their personal propaganda and thus denied normal politicians

Triumphs. The Triumph symbolised healthy political competition, but as power centralised, the

practice corrupted. Once the Emperor consolidated military and civil power into one absolute

office, the Pomerium became irrelevant.

The Pomerium served an essential role in the Roman republican political system by sep-

arating the military from Rome’s civil administration. It conserved the institutions of the Roman

30 Ibid., pp. 258-259.

 Carrig 14

Republic and as long as it stood, Rome stood. Within the city of Rome, no one man could claim

to speak on behalf of the Republic. The entire political system had to cooperate to govern the

city, which encouraged competition to be the best politician for both the people and govern-

ment. Only times of dire emergency could one man command military control within the city;

even then the Senate limited it for a brief term and the act extremely disrupted to the entire

system. As a major exception to the Pomerium, the Triumph provided a festive celebration of

Rome’s military might and propagated the narrative of necessary continual territorial expansion

for the influx of wealth into Rome. It also assisted the Triumphator’s popularity among the

people and often started the political career of his younger male relatives. Only by the approval

of the Senate and Plebeian Assembly could a general violate the Pomerium for one day. Rome’s

political process relied on the distinction between military and civil authority. Imperial consoli-

dation of these two powers led to the destruction of the Republic, and the fading relevance of

the institution of the Pomerium can accurately be blamed for beginning the fall of the Roman

Empire.
 Carrig 15

Bibliography

Beard, Mary. 2009. The Roman Triumph. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

——; North, John; Price, S. R. F. 2013. Religions Of Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Boatwright, Mary T. 1984. Tacitus on Claudius and the Pomerium, Annals 12.23.2-24. The Classical

Journal 80, No. 1: 36-44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3297396.

——; Gargola, Daniel J.; Lenski, Noel; Talbert, Richard J. A. 2012. The Romans: From Village to

Empire. New York: Oxford University Press.

Deutsch, Monroe E. 1926. Caesar's Triumphs. The Classical Weekly, 19(13), 101-106.

doi:10.2307/30107744

Dionysus Hal. n.d. Antiquitates Romanæ. 1.

Drogula, Fred K. 2007. Imperium, Potestas, And The Pomerium In The Roman Republic. Historia:

Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25598407.

Homo, Léon. 2013. Roman Political Institutions. London: Routledge.

Kent, Roland G. 2019. Pomerium: Etymological Meaning — TAPA 44:19‑24 (1913). Penelope.Uchi-

cago.Edu. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Jour-

nals/TAPA/44/Pomerium*.html#note2.

Lee, Antony. 2017. Pursuing The Pomerium: The Ritual And Reality Of The Sacred Boundary Of Lin-

dum Colonia. Roman Lincolnshire Revealed. https://romanlincolnshire.word-

press.com/2017/10/31/pursuing-the-pomerium/.
 Carrig 16

Livius, Titus. 2019. Ab Urbe Condita. Mcadams.Posc.Mu.Edu. Bruce J. Butterfield. http://mcad-

ams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/livy/Livy01.html.

Ovid. 2010. Fasti. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers.

Platner, Samuel B. 1901. The Pomerium and Roma Quadrata. The American Journal of Philology,

22(4), 420-425. doi:10.2307/288334

——; Ashby, Thomas. 1929. A Topographical Dictionary Of Ancient Rome: Pomerium. Penelope.Uchi-

cago.Edu. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/La-

zio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Pomerium.html.

Plutarch; Dryden, John; Clough, Arthur Hugh. 1955. The Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Ro-

mans. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.

Pomerium | Sacred Ground, Ancient Rome. 2019. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britan-

nica.com/topic/pomerium.

Servius Maurus Honoratus; Virgil. n.d. Ad Aeneid.

Smith, William; Murray, John; Schmitz, Leonhard. 1875. A Dictionary Of Greek And Roman Antiq-

uities. Penelope.Uchicago.Edu. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Ro-

man/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Pomoerium.html.

Varro. 1951. Varro. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.