An Audio Guide to Ancient Rome – Details, episodes & analysis

Trajan’s Column is a monument to Emperor Trajan’s victory in the wars with Dacia that took place between the years 101 and 106.  It was part of a sequence of constructions built by or dedicated to Trajan.  Over time, running from north-west to south-east, these included the Temple of Trajan, the Column itself that was flanked by two libraries, the Basilica Ulpia and the large expanse of Trajan’s main forum square.

This description assumes that you are standing in the middle of the curve viewing perimeter looking towards the Column.  Positioned there, the Temple of Trajan would have been behind you as its remains lie underneath the Palazzo Valentini.  

The libraries flanked immediately to the left and right sides of the Column.  Sections of the parallel inner columns that define Basilica Ulpia’s main hall can be seen beyond Trajan’s Column.  Trajan’s main forum square would have been hidden from view behind the Basilica as would his market, which is over of the far left.

In as much as this is possible, the carvings on the column appear to have been intended to be viewed from this north-west vantage point with key scenes in the narrative always shown on this side.

It is most notable today because of the exquisitely detailed relief work carved into the column, these give a clear narrative of Trajan's two victorious military campaigns. 

This monument celebrates Marcus Aurelius’ two successful military campaigns against tribes north of the Danube in what is modern day Germany.  The first campaign ran from the year 172-173 and was waged primarily against the Marcomanni tribe, the second in the following two years was principally against the Sarmatians.  For over a decade, these and other German tribes had been orchestrating raids into the provincial territory of Gaul (what we know today as France) and in the area south of the Danube, even going so far as laying siege to Roman settlements and exacting significant defeats against major Roman forces.  

In an effort to decisively counter these incursions, in the year 172 under Marcus Aurelius’ command the roman forces crossed the Danube into Marcomannic territory. Although few details are known, his troops were successful in defeating the Marcomanni and their allies as can be inferred by the Emperor adopting the title "Germanicus"..

Echoing the design of Trajan’s column, the central cylindrical shaft is 100 feet high (29.5m) and made of 17 cylindrical blocks.  A further 14 blocks in the base, plinth and attic gave a total of 31 massive pieces of marble that originally supported a bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius positioned at the top.  Like Trajan’s column, it has a central spiral staircase and is decorated with a spiral frieze that wraps around the column shaft, in this case circling the column twenty-one times and maintaining a very uniform height throughout. The narrative of the carvings start with Roman troops crossing the Danube and then, in contrast to Trajan’s Column that heavily focused on construction works and religious duties undertaken by his roman forces on campaign, this storyline extensively catalogues the brutality of the roman troops and cruelty shown towards the Germanic tribes.  Also, this carving is significantly deeper, its details are less subtle and it portrays a much less ambiguous message which might be simply stated as “mess with Rome and you’ll pay the price”.  

Following closely the narrative format established on Trajan’s column, Marcus Aurelius’ two campaigns are recorded reading from the bottom to the top. They are delineated by the inclusion of Victory figures half-way up the column.  Starting with the crossing of the Danube, the first campaign follows a fairly conventional storyline of troops marching, imperial speeches, sacrifices to the gods and then the sacking of enemy towns. That said, the inhumanity with which the barbarians are treated in this case can perhaps be understood when one considers that this was not a military force out to annex an area of land with the intent of putting a new governance structure in place.  Instead it had been mobilized to enact retribution for previous attacks against the empire and therefore focused primarily on punishment. Rome’s success in Marcus Aurelius’ first campaign is depicted as being delivered, in the end, by a miraculous intervention from the gods. Corroborating this, we understand from historians of the time that a summer’s drought was alleviated in the end by heavy rains that saved the imperial forces. The carvings then close their story of this first campaign with a surrender and a peace arrangement with the enemies of the empire, acts of imperial clemency and various religious sacrifices.

The storyline of the second campaign reads as being even more brutal than the first.  The Germanic tribes had broken whatever peace pledges they had made and Marcus Aurelius once again found himself waging war to suppress the empire’s troublesome northern neighbors.  This time there would be no hint of clemency or forgiveness from the imperial troops.  The story told by the carvings evidences intense fighting, decapitations of prisoners, the unmerciful destruction of villages; slaves, animals and crops were taken in a way that left the land barren and the people with no means of surviving the coming winter – leaving no doubt this was a brutal campaign.

The Basilica Julia was dedicated by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE – the same year that his nearby Forum was completed.  Caesar funded the construction with monies taken during his highly successful campaigns in Gaul. 

But his was not the first Basilica on this site. Over one hundred years earlier Tiberius Sempronius Graccus had bought a house from his father-in-law as well as adjacent butchers shops, tore them down and built in their place the Basilica Sempronia. This original building was smaller, covering roughly two-thirds of the site and positioned at the south east end (towards to the temple of Castor and Pollux). 

Competing with his rival Pompey’s major Theater construction in the Fields of Mars, Caesar repaired and extended the Basilica Sempronia at the same time that he was building out the nearby Forum to the north that also bears his name.

In 7 BCE, fire ravaged the buildings around the forum with the Basilica Julia and the Temple of Castor and Pollux being particularly badly damaged. The temple was rebuilt first and rededicated in the year 6, however it took a total of 19 years for the Basilica to be repaired. When completed, emperor Augustus dedicated the building his deceased grandchildren Gaius and Lucius however this new name didn’t find common use. 

The Basilica consisted of a central nave and four aisles divided by square pilasters of travertine. These were all once veneered with marble.  The fronts and sides of the building were solid marble with Doric half columns projecting out of square pilasters.

The Temple of Vespasian and Titus sits at the north-west end of the Forum between the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of Concord and backs onto the Tabularium.  It is readily identified by the three Corinthian columns connected by a carved piece of entablature that together form a right-angle.  
These columns establish the front-right corner of the Temple. Originally there would have been a total of 6 columns along the front and 8 running along each side.  There were originally two sets of stairs leading up through the front columns into a portico underneath a large triangular pediment.  This arrangement of steps was unusual and likely a result of the limited space available in this part of the forum.

The pediment seems to have had an inscription across the front with a dedication that read ‘Divo Vespasiano Augusto SPQR’.

The temple was constructed to honor the Flavian Dynasty, which comprised the emperors: Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian.

The Temple, repaired and rebuilt over many centuries, is one of the most ancient buildings in the Forum.  Its construction was ordered by the last Etruscan King, Tarquin the Proud, in the late 6th or early 5th century BCE and was to be sited in front of an altar already dedicated to Saturn.

It is easily recognized by its 8 remaining Ionic columns – six along the front and one on each side forming the front portico.  These support an entablature with an inscription that can be translated as “The Senate and People of Rome Restored what was consumed by fire”.  This evidences restoration work from the late fourth century.

Over 500 years before this, in the early to mid-first century BCE, Lucius Munatius Plancus used his spoils of war to reconstruct the temple.  Munatius had been one of the generals successfully campaigning in Gaul alongside Julius Caesar and returned to Rome a wealthy man.  However, following Caeser’s assassination he repeatedly switched allegiances to try to remain in favor with however seemed to have the upper hand in the pursuit of overall control of the empire.

The design of the Temple of Saturn however did not significantly change over the centuries despite being repeatedly repaired.  The portico originally had 6 columns at the front and two additional full columns on each side. There was a single main set of steps at the front that lead up to a pair of entrance doors.

The Temple of Concord is the site of a series of shrines dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia, and erected at the western end of the Roman Forum. The earliest temple is believed to have been vowed by Marcus Furius Camillus in 367 BCE, but it may not have been built until 218 BCE.  

The temple which had been occasionally repaired was completey rebuilt by Emperor Tiberius and dedicated in the year 10 after the original had been burnt down following a lightning strike.  Tiberius paid for the construction with the spoils of his and his brother Drusus’ highly successful campaigns conquering and pillaging across vast areas of Germania.

The early version of the temple was similar to the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux with steps leading up through lines of columns supporting a pediment that led to the entrance doors and a long and narrow main cella. 

However Tiberius’ version was quite different as the temple expanded sideways with the main cella being wide rather than long – in part this was necessary because of the space limitations at the foot of the Capitoline hill and the fact that is was sited at the foot of the Tabularium. Its sideways expansion meant it ate into the space that had been occupied by the Basilica Opimia (sited to the left of the original building when looking from the path that runs in front of the Arch of Septimius Severus).

The Arch commemorates the victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns waged against the Parthians between the years 194 and 199. 
Before this the Romans had been in conflict with Parthia for hundreds of years with notable campaigns taking place under the command of various of its leaders including Crassus, Trajan and Hadrian spanning from 52BCE through to the early third century. In the first of these, Crassus led an invading army into Mesopotamia, with catastrophic results; at the Battle of Carrhae, Crassus and his son were defeated and killed by the Parthian army under General Surena. The bulk of Crassus’ force was either killed or captured; of 42,000 men, about half died, a quarter made it back to their base in Syria, and the remainder became prisoners of war. Rome was humiliated by this major defeat, which was made even worse by the fact that the Parthians had captured several Legionary Eagle standards. Such history made Severus’ campaigns and the eventual defeat of Parthia particularly important to Rome and worthy of memorialization.
The arch has four carved panels that describe, in chronological sequence, the major events in the course of Severus’ campaigns.  Unfortunately some of these are in a poor state of preservation and many scenes are barely discernible. The side that faces the forum is particularly damaged because it has always been exposed to the wind and a fire in the Middle Ages. If, as we work our way around the monument, you’re having trouble making out the panel details, bear in mind that clearer modern versions of these reliefs can be seen in the Museo Nazionale della Civiltà Romana.

The Curia Julia is the third building in the Forum that was purpose built as the Senate’s meeting place and each bore the name of its financial sponsor.   The custom of meeting in a Curia was believed to have begun in a temple where the warring tribes gathered and laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus. During the early monarchy, the temple was used by senators acting as council to the king. Tullus Hostilius was believed to have replaced the original structure after fire destroyed the converted temple – hence the first purpose built version is known as Curia Hostilia. 

This curia was enlarged in 80 BCE by Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his renovations of the comitium at which time it was renamed the Curia Cornelia. 

That building was lost in 53 BCE when the supporters of the murdered Publius Clodius Pulcher used it as the location of a funeral pyre to cremate his body and accidentally burned the whole place down.

Subsequently, Julius Caesar’s major rebuild in 44BCE meant that the Senate sessions were temporarily convened in Pompey’s Theater located next to what is now the Campo dei Fiori.  This is why the Theater became the venue of Caesar’s assassination as Caesar made his way there to a meeting of the senate.  Caesar’s death delayed the new Curia’s construction which was eventually completed in 29 BCE by Augustus Caesar.

This version, the Curia Julia, was remodeled by Domitian between the years 81 and 96. Then, in the year 283, it was heavily damaged by a fire. From 284 to 305, the Curia was rebuilt by Diocletian and it is the remnants of this building that we see today although it still carries the name Curia Julia. 

You’re listening to an Audio Guide to Ancient Rome.  This episode is one in a series of short descriptions of monuments in the Roman Forum.  In this episode I’m describing the Black Stone, Rostra and the Column of Phocas.

The Roman Forum sits in a saddle between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills.  Originally a marshy area, successive improvements to the land’s drainage allowed this to eventually become the center of power for the city.  

As its armies conquered new territories and money flowed into Rome, the Forum’s original meat and produce sellers were pushed out, to be replaced by majestic temples and monumental structures that accommodated the key societal, political and judicial systems needed for the empire to function.  This area served as a central market and meeting place over many centuries although the nature of the proprietors and clientele changed significantly over time.

The Forum and its surrounding buildings grew to be the focal point for nearly everything associated with the lives of the people of Rome including political discussions, legislative processes, civic entertainment, as well as a logical place to hold a riot or even a cremation.

The area was first surfaced with gravel in 7th Century BCE around the time of the establishment of the Comitium and Senate House (or Curia). Although lost for many centuries and no longer recognizable other than through its archaeological footprint, the Comitium was sited in front of where you now see the meeting house of the Roman Senate (which is often called the Curia Julia). If you’re having trouble locating this, it is to the south east of the Arch of Septimius Severus and hidden underneath a low sloping temporary roof that covers ongoing excavation work.

Also the location of the sanctuary for the fire god Vulcan, this was an important cult center from the very beginning of Rome’s development. The sanctuary consisted of an open-air U-shaped altar, a column which was probably for a cult statue, and an inscribed stela, known as the Lapis Niger (or Black Stone). 

Before the Basilica Paulli was built, this location had already served as the site of a basilica commissioned in 179 BCE by consul Marcus Fulvius Nobilior. That building replaced a series of butchers shops that previously occupied the site.  Fulvius didn’t see the project through to completion so, after his death, his colleague and contemporary Marcus Aemilius Lepidus ensured the work was finished. For the next 125 years the building sited here was known as the Basilica Fulvia after its original sponsor.  This first version had a large and roughly rectangular main hall with 34 internal columns defining the inner apse – these were arranged in 4 columns at each end and an additional 13 on each side. Coins from the period show that it was two stories high with columns on the upper floor on the outside. The side of the Basilica that faced the Forum had a portico running along its length also supported by a set of columns.  Under the portico were a set of alcoves that housed a row of new shops – these were referred to as the Tabernae Argentariae Novae which indicates that the shops were actually silversmiths, money changers and bankers.

A substantial refinement and upgrade of the Basilica was made by the Consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus in 55BCE using money he’d received as a bribe from Julius Caesar – the money had been given in return for political support while Caesar was vying for power with Pompey.