Arch of Marcus Aurelius (Rome)
Location | Regio IX Circus Flaminius |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°54′5.4″N 12°28′49.7″E / 41.901500°N 12.480472°E |
Type | Triumphal arch |
History | |
Builder | Commodus |
Founded | late 2nd century |
The Arch of Marcus Aurelius (
History
The Arch of Marcus Aurelius, dedicated to the emperor Marcus Aurelius by the Roman Senate is known through literary sources and an inscription.[1] It was decreed by the Senate at the end of the first phase of the Marcomannic War which ended with a triumph celebrated by the emperor and his son Commodus over the Marcomanni and Sarmatians in December 176.[2][3]
Topography
The existence of an arch dedicated to Marcus Aurelius is based on a cycle of twelve
Another possible location where the arch may have originally been is near the Column of Marcus Aurelius, serving as a monumental entrance to the portico that surrounded the column and the Temple of Marcus Aurelius in the Campus Martius.[5]
Embossed panels
The reliefs that would have been part of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius depict the story of the emperor's military victories during the Marcomannic Wars. The emperor appears in all of them, and always in the company of a character who has been identified as his son-in-law and, for a time, his successor in pectore, Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus. The existence of both figures across all of the reliefs has been used to support the premise that there was a common origin for the reliefs.[6]
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Departure
(Arch of Constantine) -
Allocution
(Arch of Constantine) -
Captives
(Arch of Constantine) -
Clemency
(Arch of Constantine) -
Concession of the King
(Arch of Constantine) -
Marcus Aurelius with Two Barbarians
(Capitoline Museums) -
Roman Triumph of Marcus Aurelius)
(Capitoline Museums
References
- ^ CIL VI, 1014.
- ^ Historia Augusta, Commodus, 12.5
- ^ Historia Augusta, Marcus Aurelius, 16.1-2 and 17.3.
- ^ Platner, Samuel Ball; Ashby, Thomas, eds. (1929). A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. pp. 33–47.
- ^ F.Coarelli, La colonna di Marco Aurelio, Roma, 2008, p.42-44.
- ^ Bianchi Bandinelli - Torelli, cit., Arte romana scheda 142.