FORUM OF TRAJAN, ROME

Trajan, the 2nd of the Five Good Emperors, served in the Roman Empire’s expansion during the second century A.D.
Trajan ruled from A.D. 98 until his death in A.D. 117.
Before he was emperor, Trajan was an army commander, senator, and governor of upper Germany.
Trajan was the first Roman emperor born outside of Italy.
Italica (Seville in modern-day Spain).
He was also one of the first emperors to be chosen, rather than to inherit power as part of a ruling family.

1. Forum Of Trajan, Rome Aabhika Samantaray 2020701001 First year, 2 nd semester.

2. Who was TRAJAN? Trajan, the 2 nd of the Five Good Emperors, served in the Roman Empire’s expansion during the second century A.D. Trajan was the first Roman emperor born outside of Italy. Italica (Seville in modern-day Spain), He was also one of the first emperors to be chosen, rather than to inherit power as part of a ruling family. Trajan ruled from A.D. 98 until his death in A.D. 117. Before he was emperor, Trajan was an army commander, senator, and governor of upper Germany. These experiences helped him gain the support of both the sitting emperor, Nerva, who named him as his successor, and generals of the Roman army. Roman government recognized that the standard of excellence in either a law or a work of art Art also served the state – praising the virtues and deeds of the emperors Art became truly public – bridges, baths, theaters, public exhibitions in squares and public artworks geared

3. What is Forum? A FORUM is a large public space within the city that would include libraries, temples, a large open area for congregating and an adjoining market place. The new forum glorified Trajan’s victories against the Dacians – which paid for his building program in Rome

4. 4 Trajan’s Forum on Map

5. 5 Plan of FORUM OF TRAJAN IMPERIAL FORE HAND SKETCHED

6. Why was it created? HISTORICAL EVENTS : The Roman defeat of the Dacians. It took two military campaigns to victory ensure and reinforced the Roman’s intolerance for uprising and challenge CONCEPTS AND IDEAS : Rome lead to victory over the Dacians by the calm, organized army lead by the steady rule of their emperor – ROMANS WON BECAUSE OF ORGANIZED POWER NOT DIVINITY OR SUPERIORITY • Function : Educational and entertainment of the masses. Through the visual reading of the artwork they could place themselves in the campaign. Trajan chose the monument as the site of his burial – his ashes are in a chamber below the column. FUNERAY OBJECT and POLITICAL PROPAGANDA

7. The Forum of the final imperial forum, was both the largest and the most lavish . Inaugurated in 112 C.E. The elaborate forum complex has a vast footprint, measuring 200 x 120 meters . Architect: Apollodorus of Damascus Construction for the forum and basilica began in 106/107 AD and was completed in 112 AD . The next year the markets and column were inaugurated. The temple is thought to have been included in the original design, but it was  ‍‍‍‍‍not completed until 11 years after Trajan’s death in 128 AD . Different from all the other forums , Apollodorus included a basilica as the background for the square instead of the temple . A temple was included in the design, but this was added after Trajan’s death by his successor Hadrian . ABOUT THE FORUM OF TRAJAN ( Forum Traiani )

8. How is the space visually organised? Central axis, proportional and symmetrical. Each building is unified with the next to create a flowing and fully integrated space. Enter through the grand archway facing the emperor’s equestrian statue. The open square of the forum is flanked by porticoes that contain exedra and point viewer attention toward the main structure, the massive Basilica Ulpia - hall of justice. Apses housed law courts. On the western side of the basilica was another courtyard, flanked by two libraries (one Greek and one Latin) , that contained a monumental honorific column, known today as the Column of Trajan. Directly behind it is his temple Temple of TRAJAN Column of TRAJAN Two libraries (one Greek and one Latin) Basilica Ulpia Courtyard Emperor’s equestrian statue

9. Materials used to build. Much of the site was built utilizing existing materials found within or nearby Rome. Tuff deposits are naturally prevalent in the area. This type of rock was named peperino and is the product of volcanic deposits that happened long before hills of Rome were settled, approximately 500,000 years ago. Travertine, a porous calcium carbonate, could easily be ‍‍‍‍‍quarried or mined in nearby Tivoli‍‍‍‍‍. This stone was easy to cut into workable shapes for building. Marble could be found in Northern Italy.

10. ROMAN CONCRETE Roman’s understanding and ability to use concrete was a new step in the field of engineering. Earlier societies had been limited to the use of post and lintel construction: a horizontal member supported at its ends by two vertical members. A famous example of this can be seen in the Greek Parthenon. Much of the building at this time in history consisted of bricks. These bricks were mass manufactured and each one was stamped with the manufactures seal, as they were responsible for its quality. Standardized sized clay bricks were used for the form of structures and were filled in with concrete. The concrete that the Romans used was considerably weaker than the concrete used today The Roman’s burnt limestone and volcanic ash, such as the abundant volcanic ash tuff, to produce quicklime. Vitruvius’s De Architectura (~15 BC) sites the proportions as 3 parts ash to 1 part lime. It was then combined with water to create a paste. Next, larger aggregate such as chunks of debris, rocks, or brick were added to create concrete. These were common, but the Romans used many different types of aggregate.

11. COLUMN made from fine-grained Luna marble. Total Height: 35 metres (115 feet) including its large  pedestal . The shaft of the column is composed of 19 drums of marble measuring c . 3.7 meters (11 feet) in diameter, weighing a total of c. 1,110 tons. The topmost drum weighs some 53 tons . A spiral staircase of 185 steps leads to the viewing platform atop the column. The helical sculptural frieze measures 190 meters in length (c. 625 feet) and wraps around the column 23 times . A total of 2,662 figures appear in the 155 scenes of the frieze, with Trajan himself featured in 58 scenes . The relief is a valuable source of information on the Roman army. It described about TRAJAN’s war with Dacians. Mainly focused on Roman Army’s way of preparation. a hill of peak height 115 feet was removed to build the Forum for which, Apollodorus kept the column’s height same as the hill and located it where the peak of hill was.

12. The Dacian weapon captured by Trajan Coloured with Primary Colours Four owls in the corners IMAGE GALLERY

13. Basilica Ulpia As an architectural type is uniquely Roman. served various civic and juridical purposes. The planners from the first century B.C.E. onwards had been to prefer to use the basilica as a framing device, so as to have it communicate with the flanks of a forum square. We see this in many cases, although with some variation. In the case of the Forum of Trajan the massive and monumental Basilica Ulpia is constructed at the northern edge of the open courtyard. It thus serves to bisect the complex, with the portico-lined courtyard lying to its east and the libraries and the Column of Trajan to its west. The basilica is massive—its overall length is some 169 meters and the interior nave is 25 meters wide . It is apsidal at both ends, with a raised central floor, and the main hall has a double surround of columns (96 in total) that were probably of white or yellow marble, in the Corinthian order. The basilica was also famous in antiquity for its gilded bronze roof tiles, as commented on by Pausanias, who remarked that the building was “worth seeing not only for its general beauty but especially for its roof made of bronze” Artist’s view of exterior elevation

14. IMAGE GALLERY THERE WERE SCULPTURES OF CAPTURED DACIAN ALL THROUGHOUT THE BASILICA AND PORTICO

15. ENTRANCE AND MAIN SQUARE The main square of the forum was once a vast space, screened by architecture on all sides and paved in white marble. Several rows of trees, and perhaps rows of statues, ran parallel to the porticoes. Entry to the forum square was from the south, by way of a triumphal arch surmounted by a statue of Trajan riding in a triumphal chariot. Although the arch itself is no longer extant, it is depicted on a coin issued. The forum square (116 x 95 meters) has an overriding martial theme, reminding viewers and visitors that the forum was constructed from the proceeds ( manubiae ) of Trajan’s successful military campaigns against the Dacians . The porticoes were decorated with statuary and military standards, as described by the ancient author Aulus Gellius: “All along the roof of the colonnades of the forum of Trajan gilded statues of horses and representations of military standards are placed, and underneath is written  Ex manubiis  [from the spoils of war] ...” ( Attic Nights  13.25.1).

16. The Markets of Trajan a separate architectural complex. This multi-level commercial complex was built against the flank of the Quirinal Hill which had to be excavated for the purposeThe ruins of the markets today preserve 170 rooms. The complex covers a space of approximately 110 by 150 meters. its walls stood to 35 meters above the level of the pavement of the Forum of Trajan. The original extension is hard to ascertain, based in part upon subsequent re-use and construction in the Medieval period (and later). The archaeologist Corrado Ricci (1858-1934) cleared the ruins in the twentieth century, but the markets themselves have received comparatively less attention than the adjacent forum . The function of the markets was mercantile—indeed the markets may have been designed to relocate shops ( tabernae ) and offices that were displaced by the Trajanic building project. The ground floor offices (at the forum level) were likely occupied by cashiers of the imperial treasury ( arcarii caesariani ). while upper level rooms may been leased out or used by imperial officials associated with the grain dole ( annona ).

17. CONSTRUCTION Made of concrete and brick.(fireproof) Groin vaulted levels. (6) Floor levels added in middle ages; it was fortified for defensive purposes. No windows for light coming.

18. WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF RECONSTRUCTED? Entrance Gate Column of Trajan Libraries Use of primary colours for decoration

19. Basilica Ulpia

20. Portico Statues of captured dacians Use of primary colours for decoration

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