Tropaeum Traiani
Type:
Monuments
Date:
107/108 CE
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Romania
Medium:
Limestone
Dimensions:
Approximately 40 m in diameter
Description:
The Tropaeum Traiani (Trophy of Trajan) was erected in Adamclisi (sometimes Adamklissi), Romania, shortly after is was conquered as a new province of the Roman empire. This circular monument on the crest of a hill commemorated the victory of Emperor Trajan (r. 98–117) over the Dacians in 102 CE. Many of its fifty-four metopes (rectangular panels) depict Roman legions fighting against enemy soldiers. The monument's large but fragmentary inscription has been partially reconstructed, and indicates that it was dedicated to the god Mars Ultor by the emperor who "conquered the Dacian and the Sarmatian armies." Many of the metopes are preserved in the nearby Archaeological Museum Adamclisi. Two of the metopes shown here feature prisoners bound to trees, and one features two women, one of whom holds her naked infant. On another metope, a Suebian knot is visible in one figure's hair.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
1
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
