Column of Phocas
Coordinates | 41°53′33″N 12°29′5″E / 41.89250°N 12.48472°E |
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The Column of Phocas (
History
Erected in front of the
The base of the column was uncovered in 1813, and the inscription on it reads, in Latin:[1]
Optimo clementiss[imo piissi]moque / principi domino n[ostro] / F[ocae imperat]ori / perpetuo a d[e]o coronato, [t]riumphatori / semper Augusto / Smaragdus ex praepos[ito] sacri palatii / ac patricius et exarchus Italiae / devotus eius clementiae / pro innumerabilibus pietatis eius beneficiis et pro quiete / procurata Ital[iae] ac conservata libertate / hanc sta(tuam maiesta)tis eius / auri splend(ore fulge)ntem huic / sublimi colu(m)na(e ad) perennem / ipsius gloriam imposuit ac dedicavit / die prima mensis Augusti, indict[ione] und[icesima] / p[ost] c[onsulatum] pietatis eius anno quinto
The English translation is as follows:
To the best, most clement and pious ruler, our lord Phocas the perpetual emperor, crowned by God, the forever
Exarch of Italy, devoted to His Clemency for the innumerable benefactions of His Piousness and for the peace acquired for Italy and its freedom preserved, this statue of His Majesty, blinking from the splendor of gold here on this tallest column for his eternal glory erect and dedicate, on the first day of the month of August, in the eleventh indiction in the fifth year after the consulateof His Piousness.
The precise occasion for this signal honour is unknown, though Phocas had formally donated the
In October 610, Phocas was overthrown and killed; his statues everywhere were overthrown.
The monument remains today in its original location (in situ). Its isolated, free-standing position among the ruins has always made it a landmark in the Forum, and it often appears in
See also
- Trajan's Column – Ancient Roman victory column, a landmark of Rome, Italy
- Sigismund's Column – monument in Warsaw
References
External links
- René Seindal, "The Column of Phocas"
- Encyclopaedia Romana "Column of Phocas"
- The Column of Phocas, a novel by Sean Gabb.
- Christian Hülsen, 1906. The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments IV. "The Column of Phocas"
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.
Media related to Column of Phocas at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Column of Marcus Aurelius |
Landmarks of Rome Column of Phocas |
Succeeded by Trajan's Column |