Trajan and his architect Apollodorus of Damascus designed and built a large forum complex in the center of Rome. Standing between the libraries of the Forum of Trajan is a 128-foot tall victory column, known as the Column of Trajan. It stands on top of a large pedestal carved with a relief of the spoils of war.
The pedestal later served as a tomb for Trajan’s ashes upon his death and deification. He is the first emperor to be buried inside the pomerium, the religious boundary around the city of Rome. A 625-foot frieze that depicts Trajan’s two military campaigns against the Dacians is sculpted in a spiral relief that wraps around the column, from its bottom to its top.
The frieze depicts over 150 episodes with more than 2,500 figures. The scenes show the Roman army preparing for war, including scenes of moving the army, building fortifications, Emperor Trajan addressing the troops, battles, and the eventual surrender by the Dacians.
Only one-quarter of the narration depicts battles, while the remaining panels depict scenes of preparation and other activities. The heavy emphasis on preparation, instead of battle, emphasizes the Romans’ organization and the power behind the army.
The visual narration is depicted in low relief (bas relief) and relies little on naturalistic detail, preferring to show some scenes in multiple perspectives and with figures on different ground lines. Important characters, such as Trajan, reappear throughout the frieze and are easily identified.
Trajan himself appears 59 times, leading his troops as the head of the army and the empire. With the exception of the appearance of a few Victory figures and a river god, the Romans and Trajan are shown conquering the Dacians under their own power, through their own superiority over their enemy, without the help of divine intervention.
Trajan’s victory column was originally topped by an eagle and later with a statue of Trajan. The statue of Trajan eventually disappeared and was replaced in the sixteenth century by a bronze statue of St. Peter.
Scholars have recently called the legibility of the figures into question. Because of the column’s location, nestled between the libraries and the basilica of the Trajan’s Forum, the scenes, which are carved in low relief, are small and hard to read. It is uncertain how much of the column’s relief Romans would have been able to see. There is some speculation about whether knowledge of the idea of the narrative was more important than being physically able to read the narrative.
The inscription on the base is the source of the typeface Trajan and reads (with abbreviations spelled out):
SENATUS POPULUSQUE ROMANUS
IMPERATORI CAESARI DIVI NERVAE FILIO NERVAE
TRAIANO AUGUSTO GERMANICO DACICO PONTIFICI
MAXIMO TRIBUNICIA POTESTATE XVII IMPERATORI VI CONSULI VI PATRI PATRIAE
AD DECLARANDUM QUANTAE ALTITUDINIS
MONS ET LOCUS TAN[TIS OPER]IBUS SIT EGESTUSThe Senate and the People of Rome
To Emperor Caesar Nerva Trajan Augustus, son of the divine Nerva
Conqueror of Germany and Dacia, high priest, with the office of the tribune 17 times
Proclaimed Imperator 6 times, elected consul 6 times, father of the Empire
Here shows the height which this hill once stood
Now removed for such great works as these
Dr. Beth Harris, and Dr. Steven Zucker provide a description, historical perspective, and analysis of the Column of Trajan.
Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 CE, Rome Dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus b. 53, d. 117 CE) in honor of his victory over Dacia (now Romania) 101–02 and 105–06 CE.
