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 in AD 113, 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.
Trajan's Column, north of the Roman Forum
Roman carroballista, a cart-mounted field artillery weapon (relief detail)
Two examples of Dupondius struck 114–116 AD, showing Trajan's column with the original statue on top and his portrait
Battle scene between the Roman and Dacian armies
A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a statue. The statue may represent the goddess Victoria; in Germany, the female embodiment of the nation, Germania; in the United States either the female embodiment of the nation Liberty or Columbia; in the United Kingdom, the female embodiment Britannia, an eagle, or a war hero.
19th-century comparison between the Alexander Column, the Column of the Grande Armée, Trajan's Column, the Column of Marcus Aurelius, and "Pompey's Pillar"
Image: Snake column Hippodrome Constantinople 2007
Image: Heliodorus pillar Vidsha
Image: Jupitersaeule
