in Roman antiquity, a public and solemn honour conferred by the Romans on a victorious general, by allowing him a magnificent entry into the city.

The greater triumph, called also curulis, or simply the triumph, was decreed by the senate to a general, upon the conquering of a province or gaining a signal victory. The day appointed for the ceremony being arrived, scaffolds were erected in the forum and circus, and all the other parts of the city where they could best behold the pomp: the senate went to meet the conqueror without the gate called Copena or Triumphalis, and marched back in order to the Capitol; the ways being cleared and cleansed by a number of officers and tipstaffs, who drove away such as thronged the passage or struggled up and down. The general was clad in a rich purple robe, interwoven with figures of gold, setting forth his great exploits; his buckskin were beset with pearl; and he wore a crown, which at first was only laurel, but afterwards gold; in one hand he bore a branch of laurel, and in the other a truncheon. He was carried in a magnificent chariot, adorned with ivory and plates of gold, drawn usually by two white horses; though sometimes by other animals, as that of Pompey, when he triumphed over Africa, by elephants; that of Mark Antony by lions; that of Heliogabalus by tigers; that of Aurelian by deer, &c. His children were at his feet, and sometimes on the chariot-horses. The procession was led by the musicians, who played triumphal pieces in praise of the general: these were followed by young men, who led the victims to the sacrifice, with their horns gilded, and their heads adorned with ribbons and garlands; next came the carts and waggons, loaded with all the spoils taken from the enemy, with their horses, chariots, &c.; these were followed by the kings, princes, and generals, who had been taken captives, loaded with chains: after these appeared the triumphal chariot, before which, as it passed, they all along threw flowers, and the people with loud acclamations called out Io triumphe! The chariot was followed by the senate, clad in white robes; and the senate by such citizens as had been set at liberty or ransomed; and the procession was closed by the priests and their officers and utensils, with a white ox led along for the chief victim. In this order they proceeded through the triumphal gate, along the Via Sacra, to the Capitol, where the victims were slain. In the mean time all the temples were open, and all the altars loaded with offerings and incense; games and combats were celebrated in the public places, and rejoicings appeared everywhere.