Trajan's Column

a monument in Rome erected by the Emperor Trajan between 111 and 114. The column was designed by the Greek architect Apollodorus of Damascus. The marble structure is 38 m high and comprises a cubic pedestal, a base, and a shaft with a capital of the Roman Doric order. It was originally crowned by a bronze eagle, which was later replaced by a statue of Trajan; since 1587 a statue of St. Peter has stood at the top of the column. Trajan’s Column is famous for its reliefs, which wind around the shaft in a spiral. The reliefs have an overall length of 200 m and are 1 m wide. Masterfully executed and containing more than 2,500 figures, they depict Trajan’s Dacian campaigns and provide a valuable source of information on the life and military technology of the Romans and Dacians.