The Arch of Titus - the Arch of Costantine and the Trajan's Column
This triumphal arch was erected in AD 81 by the Emperor Domitian in honour of the victories of his brother, Titus, and his father , Vespasian, in Judaea. In AD 66 the Jews, weary of being exploited by unscrupulous Roman officials, rebelled.
A bitter war broke out which ended four years later in the fall of Jerusalem and the Jewish Diaspora. Although the reliefs inside the arch are badly eroded, you can make out a triumphant procession of roman soldiers carrying off spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem. The booty includes the altar, silver trumpets and a golden seven-branched candelabrum.
This elegant marble column was inaugurated by Trajan in AD 113, and celebrates his two campaigns in Dacia (Romania) in AD 101-3 and AD 107-8. The column, base and pedestal are 40 m (131 ft) tall – precisely the same height as the spur of the Quirinal hill which was excavated to make room for Trajan’s Forum. Spiralling up the column are minutely detailed scenes from the campaigns, beginning with the Romans preparing for war and ending with the Dacians being ousted from their homeland. The column is pierced with small windows to illuminate its internal spiral staircase (closed to the public). If you wish to see the reliefs in detail there is a complete set of casts in the Museo della Civiltà Romana.
When Trajan died in AD 117 his ashes, along with those of his wife Plotina, were placed in a golden urn in the column’s survival was largely thanks to the intervention of Pope Gregory the Great (reigned 590-604). He was so moved by a relief showing Trajan helping a woman whose son had been killed that he begged God to release the emperor’s soul from hell. God duly appeared to the pope to say that Trajan had been rescued, but asked him not to pray for the souls of any more pagans. According to legend, when Trajan’s ashes were exhumed his skull and tongue were not anly intact, but his tongue told of his release from hell. The land around the column was then declared sacred and the column itself was spared. The statue of Trajan remained on top of the column until 1587, when it was replaced with one of St Peter.
This triumphal arch was dedicated in AD 315 to celebrate Constantine’s victory three years before over his co-emperor, Maxentius. Constantine claimed he owed his victory to a vision of Christ, but there is nothing Christian about the arch – in fact, most of the medallions, reliefs and statues were scavenged from earlier monuments. There are statues of Dacian prisoners taken from Trajan’s Forum and reliefs of Marcus Aurelius, including one where he distributes bread to the poor. Inside the arch are reliefs of Trajan’s victory over the Dacians. These were probably by the artist who worked on Trajan’s Column.
This triumphal arch was dedicated in AD 315 to celebrate Constantine’s victory three years before over his co-emperor, Maxentius. Constantine claimed he owed his victory to a vision of Christ, but there is nothing Christian about the arch – in fact, most of the medallions, reliefs and statues were scavenged from earlier monuments. There are statues of Dacian prisoners taken from Trajan’s Forum and reliefs of Marcus Aurelius, including one where he distributes bread to the poor. Inside the arch are reliefs of Trajan’s victory over the Dacians. These were probably by the artist who worked on Trajan’s Column.
