In the forecourt of Jupiter's Temple, you see many military trophies and insignia of victories in battle, and you remember that all triumphal parades ended here, at the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Miliatry success was highly honored in Roman culture, and victorious generals received the most tangible awards as well as the highest honors. They frequently set up a trophy (tropaeum) in a prominent location, displaying enemy shields, weapons, and armor captured in battle. Generals could also claim the largest share of the booty and spoils from conquered cities and tribes, including captives who could be sold into slavery. These could include women and children, though the most prominent captives, such as chieftains or rulers, would be retained to march in the general's triumphal procession, with the possibility of subsequent execution.
The greatest reward of all was the triumph (triumphus), an elaborate procession through the city of Rome, culminating in a final ceremony before this temple. During the Republic a triumph could be awarded only to a victorious general (who was termed imperator or triumphator) upon permission of the Senate. During the Empire, triumphs were reserved for the emperor or members of the imperial family. The procession began with hornblowers and priests and sacrificial animals, usually pure white bulls raised especially for such occasions. Next came bearers carrying masses of booty and spoils and chained captives, the more prominent, the better. At the end of the procession marched the victorious soldiers in parade dress, followed by the lictors, senators, and the imperator himself. For this occasion he was dressed in gilded shoes and purple garments embroidered with gold (the tunica palmata and the toga picta). His face was also colored red with cinnabar. In other words, he was dressed to resemble the old terra-cotta cult statue of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the sanctuary of this temple. The general rode in a special gilded chariot pulled by 4 horses, such as that shown in the coin of Octavian above; he carried a small ivory scepter topped with the image of an eagle and wore a crown of laurel leaves. Since all these trappings put the triumphator in a godlike position, behind him in the chariot stood a public slave who held a gold crown over his head and repeatedly reminded him that he was only a mortal. Triumphs were so significant that they were often represented on coins and other objects, such as the coin above, a cameo of an emperor (probably Hadrian) whose chariot is pulled by eagles and whose head is crowned by the goddess Roma, and even a honey-cake mold depicting the triumph of Marcus Aurelius, whose head is crowned by a winged victory.
The triumphal arch provided a more permanent record to commemorate a great victory; these were often topped with an image of the emperor or general driving the triumphal four-horse chariot (quadriga), as can be seen on this coin of Octavian.