tect was Apollodorus of Damascus,Trajan’s chief military engi-
neer during the Dacian Wars. Apollodorus’s plan incorporated the
main features of most early forums (FIG. 10-12), except that a huge
basilica, not a temple, dominated the colonnaded open square. The
temple (completed after the emperor’s death and dedicated to the
newest god in the Roman pantheon, Trajan himself ) was set instead
behind the basilica. It stood at the rear end of the forum in its own
courtyard, with two libraries and a giant commemorative column,
the Column of Trajan (FIGS. 10-43,no. 2, and 10-44).
Entry to Trajan’s forum was through an impressive gateway
resembling a triumphal arch. Inside the forum were other reminders
of Trajan’s military prowess. A larger-than-life-size gilded-bronze
equestrian statue of the emperor stood at the center of the great
court in front of the basilica. Statues of captive Dacians stood above
the columns of the forum porticos.
The Basilica Ulpia (Trajan’s family name was Ulpius) was a
much larger and far more ornate version of the basilica in the forum
of Pompeii (FIG. 10-12,no. 3). As shown in FIG. 10-43,no. 4, it had
apses,or semicircular recesses, on each short end. Two aisles flanked
the nave on each side. In contrast to the Pompeian basilica, the en-
trances were on the long side facing the forum. The building was
vast: about 400 feet long (without the apses) and 200 feet wide. Light
entered through clerestory windows, made possible by elevating the
timber-roofed nave above the colonnaded aisles. In the Republican
basilica at Pompeii, light reached the nave only indirectly through
aisle windows. The clerestory (used millennia before at Karnak in
Egypt,FIG. 3-26) provided much better illumination.COLUMN OF TRAJANThe Column of Trajan (FIG. 10-44)
was probably also the brainchild of Apollodorus of Damascus. The
idea of covering the shaft of a colossal freestanding column with a
continuous spiral narrative frieze seems to have been invented for
this monument, but it was often copied in antiquity, the Middle Ages
(FIG. 16-25), and as late as the 19th century. Trajan’s column is 128
feet high. It once featured a heroically nude statue of the emperor at
the top. (The present statue of Saint Peter dates to the 16th century.)
The tall pedestal, decorated with captured Dacian arms and armor,
served as Trajan’s tomb.
Scholars have likened the 625-foot band that winds around the
column to an illustrated scroll of the type housed in the neighboring
libraries (and that Lars Pulena holds on his sarcophagus,FIG. 9-15).
The reliefs depict Trajan’s two successful campaigns against the
Dacians. The story unfolds in more than 150 episodes in which some
2,500 figures appear. The band increases in width as it winds to the
top of the column, so that it is easier to see the upper portions.
Throughout, the relief is very low so as not to distort the contours of
the shaft. Paint enhanced the legibility of the figures, but a viewer
still would have had difficulty following the narrative from begin-
ning to end.
Much of the spiral frieze is given over to easily recognizable
compositions such as those found on coin reverses and on historical
relief panels: Trajan addressing his troops, sacrificing to the gods,
and so on. The narrative is not a reliable chronological account of
the Dacian Wars, as was once thought. The sculptors nonetheless ac-
curately recorded the general character of the campaigns. Notably,
battle scenes take up only about a quarter of the frieze. As is true of
modern military operations, the Romans spent more time con-
structing forts, transporting men and equipment, and preparing for
battle than fighting. The focus is always on the emperor, who ap-
pears throughout the frieze, but the enemy is not belittled. The Ro-
mans won because of their superior organization and more power-
ful army, not because they were inherently superior beings.10-44Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 ce.
The spiral frieze of Trajan’s column tells the story of the Dacian Wars in
150 episodes. All aspects of the campaigns were represented, from
battles to sacrifices to road and fort construction.High Empire 26510-44ASpiral
frieze, Column
of Trajan,
Rome, 112 CE.