Triumphal arches were huge monuments in honor of Roman generals who conquered new territories. In order for a general to receive a triumph (parade), he had to apply for it. This required that he relinquish command of his troops and stay outside the city of Rome. An interesting article on this subject can be found here [click here].
Triumphal arches were built only within Rome or later Byzantium because only there was allowed to hold a triumph. However, there are similar buildings in other cities. These were so-called arches of honor. Since you do not manage the city of Rome in the game, you can only build arches of honor and no triumphal arches.
Although I was in Mainz (Germany), I did not know that there were two honor arches there. I will go to Mainz soon to take photos and document this one better. In Mainz is the so-called Dativius Arch [Google Maps]. In the corresponding Wikipedia article [click here] there is a sketch with the measurements I used as a guide.
As decoration I placed two lions and an emperor statue above the arch. Visually, it is not a 1:1 copy of the arch, so as not to get problems with copyright. However, the dimensions match quite well.
In Verona (Italy) there is also a magnificent arch of honor [Google Maps]. I have not yet visited this one either, but it is scheduled for my next trip to northern Italy. A sketch that inspired me can be found on Wikipedia [click here]. The entire Wikipedia article can be found here: [Wikipedia article]. Even though the exterior is not an exact copy, the proportions and the arrangement of the columns are quite correct. The figures on the roof, which I placed, probably did not exist like this.
As with all the other buildings I try to imitate, it is important that the building as a whole is very similar to the original. An archaeologist or historian would certainly have a lot to complain about, but an exact copy would take so much time that the game would only consist of a few buildings. I prefer to imitate buildings that look very similar and have almost exact size but refrain from copying the smallest details as well, in order to be more efficient. After all, I am not historically trained, so I could recognize the details and hope that the players have an afterthought. ;D
