Fasti Triumphales
The Acta Triumphorum or Triumphalia, better known as the Fasti Triumphales, or Triumphal Fasti,[i] is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a triumphus, or triumph, in recognition of an important military victory, from the earliest period down to 19 BC.
They were discovered in a fragmentary state as the portion of the forum where they were located was being cleared to provide building material for St. Peter's Basilica in 1546.
Recognized by scholars as an important source of information on Roman history, they were taken to the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the nearby Capitoline Hill, and reconstructed.
As part of the collection of the Capitoline Museums, the Fasti Triumphales are one of the most important sources for Roman chronology.
[2][3] The Fasti Triumphales were probably engraved in 18 BC, in order to adorn the Arch of Augustus, which had recently been constructed in the forum.
Alternately, they may have been built into the wall of the Regia, an ancient building that was reconstructed in 36 BC, which was the official residence of the Pontifex Maximus, and the site where the Annales Maximi, official records of Roman history from at least the fifth century BC down to the second, were stored.
[1][4] Both lists were discovered by the scholars Onofrio Panvinio and Pirro Ligorio, as they observed the demolition of ancient structures in the forum by a local company of quarrymen working to obtain building material for St. Peter's Basilica.
In all, they rescued thirty pieces of the Fasti Capitolini, and twenty-six of the Triumphales, which they brought to the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the instructions of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.
[5][6][3] The Triumphal Fasti list all of the magistrates who celebrated a triumph from the legendary founding of the city by Romulus down to 19 BC.
[7] Each entry gives the full name of the magistrate who triumphed, beginning with his praenomen (normally abbreviated), nomen gentilicium, filiation, and cognomina (if any).
A guide to reading Roman dates and a list of the peoples and places referred to in the Fasti follow the table.
A few triumphs occurred in Interkalaris, or Mercedonius, an intercalary month used prior to Caesar's calendar reforms in 46 BC, and inserted following February in some years.
After the death of Caesar, the month of Quintilis officially became Julius (accusative feminine plural Julias, ablative Juliis), and in 8 BC, Sextilis became Augustus (accusative feminine plural Augustas, ablative Augustis), but the latter month does not appear in the Triumphal Fasti, which end in 19 BC.
