Trajan's Column — sculpture
Raffaele pagani · CC BY-SA 4.0

Trajan's Column

Colonna Traiana

  • 2 min read
  • 41.896° N 12.484° E

Interesting facts

  • The lettering of the dedication on the base became the classic model of Roman square capitals, and Carol Twombly based her 1989 Trajan typeface on it.
  • The base inscription says the column shows how high a hill once stood before it was dug away for Trajan's buildings, though excavations have cast doubt on this.
  • The carved band is not uniform: it widens from about 1 metre near the bottom to about 1.2 metres higher up, helping viewers read the upper scenes.
  • Ancient coins suggest the column was first topped by a figure that was probably an eagle, before a statue of Trajan took its place.
  • Of the 224 trees carved on the frieze, 48 are shown being chopped down, an image scholars read as a symbol of conquest.
  • Trajan's wife Plotina was later laid to rest beside him, her ashes also placed in a golden urn in the base; both urns have since disappeared.
  • Trajan wrote his own account of the campaigns, the Dacica, which is now lost; scholars think it shaped the story told on the column.
  • Among the scenes is the death of the Dacian king Decebalus, who took his own life rather than be captured.
  • One unusually violent scene shows four Dacian women torturing captives, a rare image in Roman art, which otherwise largely spares women from depictions of brutality.
  • Its spiral frieze set a fashion: the Column of Marcus Aurelius copied the idea, cutting its figures deeper because no library galleries stood nearby for close viewing.

Why it is worth it

Trajan's Column is a 30-metre marble shaft, 35 m with its pedestal, that has stood in Trajan's Forum just north of the Roman Forum since it was dedicated on 12 May 113. It celebrates Emperor Trajan's two wars against the Dacians in 101-102 and 105-106, and it was most likely designed under the architect Apollodorus of Damascus. The shaft is built from 20 huge drums of Carrara marble, each about 3.7 m across and weighing some 32 tonnes, and inside it a spiral staircase of 185 steps, lit by 43 narrow slits, climbs to a platform at the top.

What makes the column unique is the frieze: a single band of relief about 190 m long that winds 23 times around the shaft, carrying 155 scenes and more than 2,600 figures. The lower half tells the first war, the upper half the second, separated by a winged Victory writing on a shield. Surprisingly little of it is battle. Soldiers build forts, bridge rivers, fell trees and march in orderly columns; Trajan appears 58 times, addressing troops and making sacrifices. The story opens near the base with the legions' first crossing of the Danube. The detail of weapons, ships and camps makes the frieze one of the best visual sources for the Roman army.

The column originally stood between the Greek and Latin halls of the Ulpian Library, whose upper floors gave readers a closer view of the reliefs. After Trajan's death in 117 the Senate had his ashes placed in golden urns inside the base. His statue on top vanished in the Middle Ages, and since 1587 the column has been crowned by a bronze Saint Peter placed by Pope Sixtus V. Because pollution has blurred the marble, plaster casts made in the 19th and 20th centuries are sometimes easier to read: complete sets can be seen in Bucharest and in the Cast Courts of London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Getting there

The column stands in central Rome at the northern end of the Imperial Fora, close to the Capitoline Hill; it can be seen from the street. Ciampino Airport (CIA) is about 14 km away, and Rome Fiumicino (FCO), the main international airport, is further out on the coast.

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From the encyclopaedia

Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, north of the Roman Forum. Completed and dedicated on 12 May 113 AD, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which depicts the wars between the Romans and Dacians. Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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