Crowns memorial showing two awards he received •
Grass crown – (Latin:
corona obsidionalis or
corona graminea), was the highest and rarest of all military decorations. It was presented only to a general, commander, or officer whose actions saved the legion or the entire army. •
Civic crown – (Latin:
corona civica), was a chaplet of common oak leaves woven to form a crown. During the Roman Republic, and the subsequent Principate, it was regarded as the second highest military decoration a citizen could aspire to (the Grass Crown being held in higher regard) and was rewarded for saving the lives of fellow Roman citizens (cives) or for standing one's ground in war. Since Augustus, only the princeps was eligible for this decoration. It may have been identical to the Crown of the Preserver mentioned below. •
Naval crown – (Latin:
corona navalis), was a gold crown awarded to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement. In style, the crown was made of gold and surmounted with the beaks of ships. • Gold crown – (Latin:
corona aurea), was awarded to both centurions and potentially some principales, for killing an enemy in single combat and holding the ground to the end of the battle. • Battlement crowns – These were made of gold and decorated with the uprights (
valli) of an entrenchment or turrets of a city. It was awarded to the first soldier or centurion to mount the wall or palisade of an enemy town or camp. •
Mural crown – (Latin:
corona muralis), also referred to as the "walled crown", this was a golden crown, or circle of gold intended to resemble a battlement, bestowed upon the first soldier who climbed the wall of a besieged city and to successfully place the standard of the attacking army upon it. •
Camp crown – (Latin:
corona vallaris or
corona castrensis), a golden crown which was ornamented with the palisades used in forming an entrenchment, given to the first man who penetrated into an enemy camp or field during combat. • Crown of the Preserver – awarded to "those who have shielded and saved any of the citizens or allies" – Polybius relates that the crown is presented by those civilians the soldier saved and adds that "the man thus preserved also reverences his preserver as a father all through his life, and must treat him in every way like a parent."
Imperial titles Synonyms for "Emperor" •
Augustus (also "" or ""), "Majestic" or "Venerable"; an honorific
cognomen exclusive to the emperor • , (); Greek title equivalent to imperator i.e. Commander-in-Chief • (
Basileus), Greek title meaning
sovereign, popularly used in the east to refer to the emperor; a formal title of the Roman emperor beginning with
Heraclius •
Caesar (also "" or "Nobilissimus Caesar"), "Caesar" or "Most Noble Caesar"; an honorific name later used to identify an Emperor-designate •
Censor, a Republican office with a five-year term and one coequal officeholder •
Consul, the highest magistracy of the Roman republic with a one-year term and one coequal officeholder • Dominus, "Lord" or "Master"; an honorific title popular in the Empire's middle history •
Imperator, "Commander" or "Commander-in-Chief"; a
victory title taken on accession to the purple and after a major military victory; the
praenomen of most Roman emperors •
Imperator Destinatus, "Destined to be Emperor"; heir apparent, used by
Septimius Severus for
Caracalla. •
Imperium maius, "greater
imperium"; absolute power to a degree greater than any other, including power of enacting capital punishment • Invictus, "Unconquered"; an honorific title •
Pater Patriae, "Father of the Fatherland"; an honorific title • Pius Felix, "Pious and Blessed" (); an honorific title •
Pontifex Maximus, "Supreme Pontiff" or "Chief Priest" (); a title and office of Republican origin – could not be used by Christian Emperors, while by that time only the
pope had a claim on the title of highest religious authority. •
Princeps, "First Citizen" or "Leading Citizen"; an honorific title denoting the status of the emperor as
first among equals • Princeps Iuventatis, "First of Youth"; an honorific title awarded to a presumptive Emperor-designate •
Princeps Senatus, "First Man of the Senate" a Republican office with a five-year term • Restitutor Orbis, "Restorer of the World"; a title granted to Aurelian for his role in helping to end the Crisis of the Third Century. •
Tribunicia potestas, "tribunician power"; the powers of a
tribune of the people including sacrosanctity and the veto
Victory titles Victory titles were treated as Latin
cognomina and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander. Hence, names like Africanus ("the African"), Numidicus ("the Numidian"), Isauricus ("the Isaurian"), Creticus ("the Cretan"), Gothicus ("the Goth"), Germanicus ("the German") and Parthicus ("the Parthian"), seemingly out of place for ardently patriotic Romans, are in fact expressions of Roman superiority over these peoples. The most famous grantee of Republican victory title was
Publius Cornelius Scipio, who for his great victories in the Second Punic War was awarded by the Roman Senate the title "Africanus" and is thus known to history as "Scipio Africanus". The practice continued in the Roman Empire, although it was subsequently amended by some Roman Emperors who desired to emphasise the totality of their victories by adding Maximus ("the Greatest") to the victory title (e.g., Parthicus Maximus, "the Greatest Parthian").
Decorations (medal equivalents) Polybius writes that "After a battle in which some of them have distinguished themselves, the general calls an assembly of the troops, and bringing forward those whom he considers to have displayed conspicuous valour, first of all speaks in laudatory terms of the courageous deeds of each and of anything else in their previous conduct which deserves commendation". Only after this are the military decorations presented: •
Torc – gold necklet •
Armillae – gold armbands •
Phalerae – gold, silver, or bronze sculpted disks worn on the breastplate during parades •
Hasta pura or Arrow without a Head- a ceremonial silver spear awarded to "the man who has wounded an enemy". The use of this decoration is not clear. • a small silver replica of a standard or flag (the
vexillum). • a cup – presented to an infantryman "who has slain and stripped an enemy" not in the normal melee of battle but voluntarily in single combat after throwing themselves into danger • "horse trappings" – presented to a cavalryman "who has slain and stripped an enemy" not in the normal melee of battle but voluntarily in single combat after throwing themselves into danger
Financial awards • monetary bonuses • part of the loot and spoils after a conquest including slaves
Service awards •
missio honesta – honorable discharge
Trophy •
Spolia opima •
Tropaion Imperial parades •
Triumph – a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (
dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory. •
Ovation – a less-honored form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of states, when an enemy was considered basely inferior (slaves, pirates), and when the general conflict was resolved with little to no bloodshed or danger to the army itself. ==Punishments==