The most strikingly innovative construction was Trajan’s column. This was simultaneously a landmark (it stood about 128 Roman feet (38m) high surmounted by a 3m statue of the emperor in military dress), a building (it had a room in the base, a spiral staircase lit by forty slit windows, and a platform for the statue; there was a metal fence, and visitors who climbed to the top would have had a panoramic view of Rome), and a monument (there is a frieze 200m long carved in low relief on the outside of the column’s shaft, with 155 scenes in continuous sequence and 2600 figures, carved in about two-thirds life-size, depicting the course of the Dacian wars in AD 102 to 103 and 105 to 106) (see Plates 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 and 6.2).82
Plate 6.2 Trajan’s Column
Source: Ancient Art and Architecture Collection
It is frustrating that we are so badly informed about ancient opinion on this building. Dio says that it was intended to serve as the emperor’s burial monument, and indeed his ashes were deposited there. But the height of the column was also designed to show how much land had been excavated in order to construct Trajan’s forum, and this is confirmed by the dedicatory inscription on the column: ‘The senate and people of Rome to... Trajan, to show the height of the hill excavated and the extent of the work in the place’.83 Nevertheless, the column must have made a dramatic impact in Rome, looming over Trajan’s forum and Basilica, with its enormous statue of the emperor in full military dress. In the colonnades adjoining the forum, gilded statues of horses and military trophies were set up ‘from the spoils of war’; there were also statues of great generals, figures of Dacian captives, and in the centre of the square a magnificent statue of Trajan on horseback. Much of this recalls the forum of Augustus.84
The column base portrays piles of captured Dacian weapons, and the circular plinth on which the cylinder itself sits takes the form of the laurel wreath of a victorious general. The sculptures depict the unfolding story of the military campaigns, and in an exciting narrative the overwhelming military grandeur of the emperor shines out through his frequent appearances. He seems to dominate the war, by offering inspirational leadership and by personally directing the military operations, sometimes on horseback and always close to the centre of the action. He makes speeches of encouragement to the soldiers, he meets embassies, interrogates prisoners and sees the horrors of war. Clearly the success of the campaign depends on him. The result is a great Roman victory and the annexation of a new province. The Dacians are portrayed as wild and uncivilized with little to offer except torture and violence. They evoke little sympathy, and in the end face death or humiliation and captivity. The severed head of King Decebalus is presented on a platter in the emperor’s camp, while the remains of his people abandon their ancestral lands.85
But what is the point of this intricate artistic work, which reminds us of a roll of film or a book of folding pictures? It was surely not to give an account of the workings of the Roman army, though it is mainly studied for this reason by modern scholars, nor was it a factually accurate account of the Dacian Wars. A structure as different and unprecedented as this must surely celebrate the emperor’s personal glory. It would not matter that spectators could not follow the whole story with the naked eye. The point is its overall impact and its relationship with other buildings, especially the forum and the Basilica, both provided at Trajan’s expense. These physical memorials erected by the emperor spectacularly demonstrated that the civil and military life of the empire were in safe hands.86 We cannot know how much artistic leeway was allowed to the sculptors, though it would be very odd if the emperor and his advisers did not set out some general themes that they wanted to get across. But the intention was perhaps not to seek an individual response, but to invoke more general feelings shared by the mass of the people and the upper classes relating to the profits of war, imperial responsibility, opportunities for army command and military glory.87
The column of Marcus Aurelius, probably erected by Commodus in honour of his father and his mother Faustina in celebration of Marcus’ victories in the wars against the Marcomanni and Sarmatians in ad 172 to 175, deliberately evokes the design ofTrajan’s column. It was 100 Roman feet high, and was nicknamed centenaria (‘hundred-footer’), with an internal spiral staircase and a platform on which stood a statue of the emperor.88 A sculptured frieze is carved in high relief on the outer casing and tells the story of the military campaigns. Once again, the emperor is present throughout the campaigns, and his inspirational guidance of the troops seems crucial in the successful outcome of the war. The fighting brings the reward of victory for Roman arms, though it seems that the artistic style gives a more violent and passionate and less mannered representation. Battle, Roman superiority and the ruthless destruction of the enemy are the central themes, and there is less extraneous detail.89 This funeral monument celebrated the glory of the imperial family, and Commodus could enjoy the military achievements of his father, even though he did not himself conduct any campaigns. Its importance in later years was apparently undiminished. In ad 193 the freedman procurator responsible for looking after Marcus’ column was given permission to build a shelter nearby.90
The same tradition of monumental architecture and intricate carving of individual scenes appears also in the great triumphal arches, which were dotted throughout Rome and other cities in Italy and the provinces. The arch was originally associated with an entrance or passageway and served as a triumphal memorial, since a general celebrating a triumph entered Rome through the triumphal gate (porta triumphalis) and formally crossed the city boundary. However, especially in the early empire they were being built everywhere. More than a hundred are known from Rome and Italy, and examples have been identified in every province, with more than a hundred discovered in Africa alone.91 In the simplest design, a single archway flanked by columns supported an entablature and attic, which formed a base for statuary, usually including a four-horsed chariot. Triple arches appeared as early as the second century bc, and the carving on the columns and entablature became more elaborate.
The predominant image in Rome was military triumphalism, a celebration of victory and the propagation of the empire. The honour belonged exclusively to the emperor since a grateful senate and people usually set up arches to him.92 Thus, for example, in ad 51/52 the senate voted a triumphal arch in honour of Claudius’ conquest of Britain: ‘He was the first to bring the barbarian peoples across the ocean into the control of the Roman people.’93 Statues of other members of the imperial family and scenes of military combat adorned the arch. The arch erected on the Via
Sacra after the death of Titus celebrated both his capture of Jerusalem (Titus is seen in a triumphal procession with the spoils of the Jewish campaign) and his apotheosis.94 Another arch in the Circus Maximus was erected in AD 80 to 81 in honour of Titus ‘because under the direction, advice, and auspices of his father [Vespasian], he subdued the Jewish race and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, which had been either besieged fruitlessly or left completely untouched by aH commanders, kings, and peoples before him’.95 In AD 203 the senate dedicated a triumphal arch in the Roman forum to Septimius Severus and his sons CaracaHa and Geta, ‘because they restored the state and extended the rule of the Roman people through their outstanding qualities at home and abroad’.96 This refers in part to Severus’ defeat of the Parthians and the creation of the new province of Mesopotamia. Carvings on the arch show Roman troops leading captured enemy soldiers, a triumphal procession and victory motifs. Four large panels provide an extensive panorama of the campaigns.97 A six-horse chariot, in which rode the emperor and his sons, flanked by foot soldiers, surmounted the arch; there was a cavalryman at each of the outer corners.98 The tradition of the commemorative arch remained important in the fourth century, and in AD 315 a triple arch was erected spanning the triumphal way in honour of Constantine’s victory over his rival Maxentius and in celebration of ten years of his rule. It is notable that this arch celebrates victory over a fellow Roman and also borrowed sculptures from previous monuments. Scenes from the life of Constantine appear; there are also legionary soldiers, captives, and battles between Romans and Dacians.99
These great triumphal arches were integrated into city life, and, as people walked past them or through them, served as a vivid reminder of victory, imperial success, and of course the personal role of the emperor. These ideas were also expressed in the deliberate construction of buildings from the spoils of war, so that it was clear to all that their physical enjoyment was sustained by the profits of their army’s success in battle. For example, the massive building projects of both Augustus and Trajan that saw the construction of the imperial fora were financed ‘from his general’s share of the booty’ (ex manubiis). Furthermore, the recently reconstructed inscription from the Colosseum, which once formed part of one of the original dedicatory inscriptions in the building, proclaims: ‘The emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be constructed from his general’s share of the booty.’100 The amphitheatre was in fact another triumphal monument, paid for out of the treasure captured after the sack of Jerusalem, which was celebrated in the triumph of 71.101
Although many buildings in Rome had military associations, the Circus Maximus was particularly significant. The central spine (euripus or spina) had the enormous obelisk that Augustus had brought from Egypt,102 and indeed the Circus apparently incorporated within its structure the triumphal arch celebrating Vespasian’s conquest of the Jews.103 In the case of religious buildings, apart from the temple of Mars Ultor there were two other temples of Mars in Rome, one between the first and second milestones outside the Porta Capena, the other in the Circus Flaminius. The temple of Jupiter Feretrius also had strong military connections since a commander who had killed an enemy leader in single combat dedicated there his armour and other spoils (spolia opima). Augustus had restored this temple.104 The theme of military success was also emphasized by the temple ofVictory on the Palatine hill. Other parts of the city were closely associated with the rituals that were traditionally part of Roman warfare. The Armilustrium was a square on the Aventine hill, decorated with pillars containing representations of weapons. Here the festival of purification of weapons took place on 19 October. At the Columna Bellica in front of the temple of Bellona, who personified warlike frenzy, was a plot of land that the Romans took to represent foreign territory. According to the ancient rites of the Fetial priesthood, a priest threw a spear over the column into enemy territory to begin formal hostilities. A form of this rite was still being carried on in the time of Marcus Aurelius.105
Although statues were commonplace in the ancient world as a mark of honour, the emperor’s statue also had the weightier political message that he was in unchallenged control. Therefore the design of these imperial images was important, and statues of the emperor as a soldier followed a particular style, exploiting the traditional armour and military dress of a Roman commander, since he had to show that he was competent in warfare and that victory was assured under his leadership. The famous statue of Augustus from Prima Porta had shown the way.106 Emperors who had fought great campaigns sometimes preferred an equestrian statue, like that set up by Trajan in his forum. The most striking example shows Marcus Aurelius on horseback wearing military tunic, cloak and military boots. The statue was gilded and twice life-size, and underneath the horse’s right hoof was originally the kneeling figure of a barbarian.107 In official thinking, a statue took the place of the emperor himself. Therefore in the frequent diplomatic negotiations with the Parthians, when the emperor was not present in person, acts of reverence were performed to his statue.108 During the civil wars of ad 68/69, to throw stones at an imperial portrait or to knock over a statue was tantamount to an act of rebellion.
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