45. Forum of Trajan

Forum of Trajan
Rome, Italy. Apollodorus of Damascus. Forum and markets: 106-112 C.E.; column completed 113 C.E. Brick and concrete (architecture); marble (column)

It is an amazing work of art for each detail of each scene to the very top of the Column is carefully carved. It is astounded by the artistic skill it displays.

Forum (fora: plural): open civil space in a Roman city Imperial Fora -       Were a new series forums built by emperors o   Forums were the civic, juridical, and social heart of the city of ancient Rome o   Could be found in any Roman city   o   Always included a temple §  Shows the connection between church and state that still exists -       These were forums built by Roman emperors during the Roman imperial period o   Mainly to showcase power -       Represent the major architectural landscapes of the city of Rome o   Shows the importance of civic architecture -       Illustrate the strength, accomplishments, and stability of the Roman state -       Fora is the plural form of forum -       There were five but the only one that we need to pay attention to is the Forum of Trajan   Trajan Forum FORM  -       Apollodorus of Damascus was the engineer -       Almost the size of all the other imperial forms put together o   Very extravagant o   Had a massive entrance way -       The place where Trajan was to build was already covered with the forums from previous emperors o   So he got Apollodorus of Damascus to move a good portion of the hill that was in his way of building -       Ceremonial entrance way that leads into the forum o   Below is a depiction of the entrance way to the forum o   On the top is an image of Trajan being followed by the goddess of victory -       -       - within the center of the forum was an equestrian sculpture o   the equestrian sculpture of Marcus Aurelius provides insight into how that sculpture may have looked -        -       past the forum was the Basilica Ulpia o   this was the largest Basicila in Rome o   we can still see some of it today; there are columns standing -       was filled with sculptures, carvings, free standing sculpture were found all around the forum -       colored marbles were found on the paving stones and the structures themselves -       beyond the basic Ulpia there was another entrance way o   this lead to two libraries o   in the middle of these two libraries was the column of Trajan   CONTENT -       Basicila Ulpia o   The Basicila laid the foundation for the modern cruciform church o   Called the Basilica Ulpia because that is Trajan's family name -       The free standing and other art that would have been scattering the forum depict the power of the emperors, politicians and military leaders of ancient Rome o   Throughout the forum, there were sculptures of captured Dacians §  Represented them as noble to show they the Romans are all powerful and can defeat even noble men -       Column of Trajan o   The point was to see the stories of Trajan's military victories o   Specifically, the column highlights the battle in which Trajan defeated the Dacians o   Shows that he was proud of his military acts o   125 feet tall, marks the height of the hill that was removed -       Libraries o   One was full of Greek literature, and the other was filled with Roman literature o   This shows how much the Romans were influenced and incorporated Greek life into their lives §  This is shown through their copying of ancient Greek works as well §  These libraries had porches, so one was able to study the column of Trajan from within the libraries -       Major theme= power o   This is represented by the free-standing sculptures of the defeated Dacians o   Also, the massive structure alludes to the massive power of Trajan -       Major theme = making nature subordinate to man's rule   CONTEXT -       Trajan expanded the Roman empire to its greatest boarders -       - the column was made to depict two major defeats of the Dacians for the Romans -       Trajan o   One of the most highly regarded Roman Emperors o   Best known for his public building program -       He was able to build so many things because of the large sum of money he brought home from the war on the Dacians o   Which is depicted all throughout the forum and is found in detail all around the Column of Trajan   FUNCTION -       civic space -       ceremonial space -       to represent the power of Trajan -       the detail of the art within it shows the importance the society placed on him and his accomplishments   http://www.nationalgeographic.com/trajan-column/article.html   http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/imperialfora/trajan/forumtrajani.html   Markets of Trajan 110 CE   FORM -       Engineered by Apollodorus of Damascus o   Commissioned by Trajan -       A market complex with more than 150 shops and offices -       Multi-story -       High wide space o   Made with groin vault brick face concrete §  A barrel vault that is intercepted with another barrel vault perpendicular to it §  There is one main barrel vault lined with other intercepting ones -       There are offices located on either side of the market -       Huge windows that let a lot of light in o   This is a big deal because it shows their sophistication with concrete   CONTENT -       Lots of shops and offices -       May have been used to re locate shops that were displaced by the building of the Trajan Forum -       Ground floor offices = cashiers of the imperial treasury -       Upper-level rooms = leased out or used by imperial officials   FUNCTION -       Mercantile and offices   CONTEXT -       Shows the power and focus of Trajan and his rule o   Emphasis on the people -       Important because more emphasis on people rather than the individual ruler -       May have been built to relocate the offices that were moved by the building of the Trajan Forum       Markets:    COLUMN OF TRAJAN The column where is stands Detailing on the column of the crossing of the Danube. This is where the story of the wars begins. from National Geographic: what it might have looked like painted base of the column. shows dacian weapons http://www.ancient.eu/Trajans_Column/ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/trajan-column/article.html Form Luna Marble originally painted 125 ft tall (monumental sculpture) actual column 98 ft atop the pedestal weights 1,110 tons top drum weights 53 tons made from multiple blocks,  hollow, there is a staircase inside (spiral, 185 steps) topped with a bronze statue of Trajan (but was replaced by a statue of st. peter in 1588 CE) Function narrates two campaigns that Trajan fought the Dacians defining event of Trajan's 19 year rule brought back tons of gold and silver and land to commemorate the victory, Trajan commissioned a forum towering over the forum, stone column Content 155 scenes carved into a spiral frieze bas-relief (58 feature Trajan) 2,662 intricately carved romans and Dacians romans orderly and uniformed, Dacians less so romans clean shaven, Dacians shaggy scenes of Trajan leading the army, judging prisoners, and holding war councils, addressing troops, performing sacrifices when he is in the scene, all figures focused on him to draw the viewer's attention some of the scenes they are building camps and fortifications very solid, regular, and well designed compared to humble Dacian buildings bottom - bearded naked man with back to us - representation of the Danube river, where the war started (Germany-ish) all rivers depicted as bearded half-naked men 190 m long narrative goes from the beginning of first war to second war to scene of enemy leader Decebalus killing himself 22 layers total, each layer 1 yd (layers not registers b/c spiral) each campaign separated by a scene with a shield and victory trophies Base: the defeated weapons (not people) representation of typical dacian weapons shows them as powerful opponents base of the column was a victory crown Inscription on base reads  "The Senate and the People of Rome To Emperor Caesar Nerva Trajan Augustus, son of the divine Nerva Conqueror of Germany and Dacia, high priest, with the office of the tribune 17 times Proclaimed Imperator 6 times, elected consul 6 times, father of the Empire Here shows the height which this hill once stood Now removed for such great works as these" Context completed 113 CE Dedicated to Emperor Trajan (b 53, d. 117 CE) in honor of his victory over Dacia (101-02 and 105-06 CE) Dacia = modern day Romania they were a "troublesome neighbor" to rome and were also rich in natural resources First campaign - Trajan defeats Dacian leader Decebalus Then dacians were hostile second war - Trajan won again 100 days of celebration over the victory as Rome exploited Dacia's natural wealth celebration of the  greatness of the roman people, the empire, ability to bring civilization, their ingenuity, their ability to build.  victory, the reign of Trajan,  he was able to build something lasting, like the forum. Celebration of the person, not one aspect of his life.  Trajan's ashes buried within the foundations of the column building this was really freaking hard demonstrates the complex tasks that roman architects could complete was the first of many honorific columns (column of marcus aurelius, column of arcadius, column of Justinian) nowadays used to study the equipment, weapons, and tactics used by the roman army Monumental sculpture “The Triumph” military ritual celebrated by the Romans whenever they would win a victory, there would be a big festival but then it was over (ephemeral) would anyone remember the armies? thats how monumental sculpture came in Started tradition of Triumphal monuments early ones were columns (like Caius Dulius (c260 BCE)) then moves into the arch the later construction of permanent monuments (like the Arch of Titus) served to make an impact on the urban landscape (and the collective memory of city dwellers) that lasted far longer than the events of the day itself. Monumental sculpture is not just big sculpture shows ideals shows what a culture values ex: the kouros is a monumental sculpture shows how the greeks valued athleticism and youth and beauty Column of Trajan shows how the romans value victory, expansion, strength, and power. They value their ability to build and to conquer

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