<P> The first recorded Roman triumphal arches were set up in the time of the Roman Republic . Generals who were granted a triumph were termed triumphators and would erect fornices or honorific arches bearing statues to commemorate their victories . A number of fornices were built in Rome during the Republican era . Lucius Steritinus erected two in 196 BC to commemorate his victories in Hispania . Another fornix was built on the Capitoline Hill by Scipio Africanus in 190 BC, and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus constructed one in the Roman Forum in 121 BC . None of them survive today and little is known about their appearance . </P> <P> Roman triumphal practices changed significantly at the start of the imperial period when the first Roman Emperor Augustus decreed that only emperors would be granted triumphs . The term fornix abruptly ceased to be used and was replaced by arcus, from which the English word "arch" is derived . Whereas Republican fornices were put up at the initiative and expense of the triumphator, without needing or requesting permission, imperial triumphal arches were erected for the triumphator by decree of the senate . The triumphal arch changed from being a personal monument to being an essentially propagandistic one, serving to announce and promote the presence of the ruler and the laws of the state . Arches were not necessarily built as entrances, but--unlike many modern triumphal arches--they were often erected across roads and were intended to be passed through, not round . </P> <Ul> <Li> Types of Roman triumphal arches </Li> <Li> <P> The Arch of Titus in Rome, an early Roman imperial triumphal arch with a single archway </P> </Li> <Li> <P> The Triumphal Arch of Orange, the oldest surviving triple - arched Roman triumphal arch </P> </Li> <Li> <P> The Porte Noire in Besançon, a single arch very ornate with superposition of two columns . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> The Arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna, a four - arched arcus quadrifrons </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Latakia Tetraporticus, built by Septimius Severus in AD 183 </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Arch of Galerius and Rotunda . The arch was built in 298 to 299 AD and dedicated in 303 AD to celebrate the victory of the tetrarch Galerius over the Sassanid Persians and capture of their capital Ctesiphon in 298 . </P> </Li> </Ul> <Li> Types of Roman triumphal arches </Li>

Scenes on a triumphal arch often depicted what