The modern term triumphal arch derives from the notion that this form of architecture was connected to the award and commemoration of a triumph to particularly successful Roman generals, by vote of the Roman senate. The earliest arches set up to commemorate a triumph were made in the time of the Roman Republic."Triumphal arch." Encyclopædia Britannica (2010) These were called fornices (s. fornix) and bore imagery that described and commemorated the victory and triumph. Lucius Steritinus is known to have erected two such fornices 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.F. B. Sear and Richard John. "Triumphal arch." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 30 Jul. 2010 None of these structures has survived and little is known about their appearance.
