The forum of trajan

Forum of Trajan,Rome

1. THE FORUM OF TRAJAN

2. Trajan’s Forum (Latin: Forum Traiani , Italian: Foro di Traiano ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its overall construction

3. Location – IV Templum Pacis Built In – 106-112 AD Built By - Emperor Trajan Type Of Structure – Imperial Fora

4. MAP OF ANCIENT ROMA

5. IMPERIAL FORA The Imperial Fora ( Fori Imperiali in Italian) are a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 AD and 113 AD. Julius Caesar was the first to build in this section of Rome and rearranged both the Forum and the Comitium , another forum type space designated for politics,religion and economy in Rome During the early 20 th century, Mussolini restored the Imperial Fora as part of his campaign to evoke the past glories of ancient Rome.

6. MAP OF THE IMPERIAL FORA

7. HISTORY OF TRAJAN Built on the order of the Emperor Trajan with the spoils of war from the conquest of Dacia, which ended in 106 The Forum was believed to have been inaugurated in 112 AD while Trajan’s Column was erected and then inaugurated in 113 AD To build the monumental complex, extensive excavations were required: workers eliminated the sides of the Quirinal and Capitoline hills that closed the valley occupied by the Imperial Forums

8. All the structures were built of stone except for the two libraries Public space filled with niches of sculptures in them that commemorated off great military and political leaders of Rome. The purpose of the fora was to establish and perpetuate messages about identity and ideology of each emperor

9. PLAN OF THE TRAJAN FORUM https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Trajan_forum.jpg/1024px-Trajan_forum.jpg

10. FoRUM OF TRAJAN

11. STRUCTURE The forum consisted of a vast portico lined piazza measuring 300 m (980 ft ) long and 185 m (607 ft ) wide ,with exedrae on two sides Main entrance is at the north end of the piazza , which was cobbled with rectangular blocks of white marble and decorated by a large equestrian statue of Trajan Constantius II , while visiting Rome in 357 was amazed by the huge equestrian statue of Trajan The main part of the forum was a large open space about 300 ft X 380 ft North of the basilica was a smaller piazza , with a temple dedicated to the deified Trajan on the far north side facing inwards

12. Directly north to the Basilica Ulpia on either side of the forum were two libraries , one housing Latin documents while the other Greek. Between the two libraries stood the 38 m (125 ft ) Trajan’s column

13. The entire point of the column was to see the story of Trajan’s great military exploits , specifically the two campaigns where he defeated the Dacians Consists of sculptures of captured Dacians throughout the Imperial Forum Its design has inspired numerous victory columns of both the ancient and the modern times The structure is about 30 m (98 ft ) in height ,25 m (115 ft ) including its large pedestal The capital block of the Trajan’s column weighs 53,3 tons which is lifted to a height of 34 m (112 ft )

14. Ancient coins indicate preliminary plans to top the column with a statue of a bird , perhaps an eagle but after construction , a statue of Trajan was put in place that disappeared in the middle ages On Dec. 4 , 1587 , the top was crowned by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze figure of St. Peter which remains to this day The column shows 2,662 figures and 155 scenes with Trajan himself appearing 58 times

15. COLUMN OF TRAJAN

16. BASILICA ULPIA Basilica ulpia was an ancient Roman civic building located in the Forum of Trajan It separates the temple from the main courtyard in the Forum of Trajan with the Trajan’s column to the northwest Named after the Roman emperor Trajan, whose full name was Marcus Ulpius Triananus Composed of a great central nave with four side aisles with clerestory windows to let light into the space divided by rows of columns and two semi circular apses ,one at each of the ends with the entry of the basilica located on the longitudinal side

17. The columns and walls were of precious marbles with the 50m(164 ft ) high roof was covered by gilded bronze tiles It was later used by Constantine as the basis for the layout of the new Christian churches

18. THE TEMPLE OF TRAJAN Dedicated to Trajan and his wife Plotina after his deification by the Roman Senate by his adoptive son and successor, Hadrian An enormous monolithic granite column (2m in dia.) with a white marble capital (2.12 m high) The temple was enormous in dimensions and surrounded by a portico

19. ULPIAN LIBRARY (BIBLIOTHECA ULPIA) Considered one of the most prominent and most famous libraries of antiquity,(The library of Alexandria of the ancient city of Rome) The only Roman library to survive until the Fall of Rome in the mid 5 th century Roman imperial libraries wiConstantius II , while visiting Rome in 357 was amazed by the huge equestrian statue of Trajan Housed Latin and Greek collections housed separately across a small colonnaded courtyard that enclosed the column Two level structure with high vaulted ceilings to ake advantage of natural lighting Interior walls divided into bays by columns “set opposite pilasters that framed the niches which held the books and scrolls

20. There were 3 steps between the columns that enabled access to a walkway in front of the book cases Estimated amount of scrolls held are approximately 10,000 for both Latin and Greek libraries

21. POST ROMAN HISTORY In the mid 9 th century, the marble cobble blocks of the piazza were systematically taken for reuse due to the good quality of lime They were replaced with concrete, showing that the piazza was still in use as a public space

22. PRESENT DAY SCENARIO In modern day context, only a section of the markets and the column of Trajan remain A number of columns which historically formed the Basilica Ulpia remained on site and have been re erected The construction of the Via dei Fori Imperiali in 1933 covered a number of these columns which remain visible under the arches on which the rad runs

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