Trajan's Forum

Trojan's Forum: November 14th

         Trajan was the Emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD.  He was born in Hispania and was Rome's first non-Italian Emperor.  Trajan was part of the Roman army before he became emperor.  He was granted consulship in 91 AD.  Emperor Nerva adopted Trajan, and when Nerva died in 98, Trajan was named emperor.  His main accomplishment was expanding the empire to the greatest extent in its history, but he also had extensive building projects.
          We visited the Forum of Trajan on our excursion to Rome.  Trajan used the funds from his war with Dacia to fund his building project, and the forum was inaugurated in 112 AD.  Apollodorus was the architect for the project.  The Forum is huge, the largest of all the Imperial Fora, and measures 300 by 180 meters. 
          Though we were unable to see Trajan's Market, as it was closed for a strike, we were able to visit Trajan's Column.  The column is 35 meters high, including the pedestal.  If you were to uncoil the band of images around the column, it would be 190 meters long.  Trajan's Column was dedicated to the emperor's victory in the Dacian wars, and it was built in 113 AD.  The frieze, or band of relief sculpture that winds around the Column, depicts Trajan's victories over the Dacians.  A statue of Trajan was originally placed on top of the column, but during the Middle Ages, it was replaced with a statue of Saint Peter.
          Although I was disappointed we were unable to visit Trajan's Market, seeing the tower and the Emperor's expansive forum was interesting.  During our visits to the Imperial Fora, it was interesting to be able to see the spaces where these ancient structures used to stand.  The book with the photos of reconstructions helped me to better understand how the Roman Empire might have looked during the height of its rule in Europe.