Trajan's Column Dedicated in Rome
Emperor Trajan's victories in two wars against Dacia brought extensive territory and wealth into the Roman Empire. The Senate commissioned a monumental column in Trajan's new forum to commemorate those campaigns and the immense construction work required to reshape the site. Dedicated on May 12, 113, the marble column carried a spiraling sculpted narrative showing Roman armies marching, building, negotiating, and fighting. Its pedestal inscription honored Trajan while noting the height of the hill removed for the forum complex. The monument joined architecture, political commemoration, and an unusually detailed visual account of Roman military activity.