Arch of Marcus Aurelius

About

The Arch of Marcus Aurelius (Latin: Arcus Marci Aurelii) was a Roman triumphal arch in Rome, probably in the region of the Campus Martius, near the modern Piazza Colonna and the Column 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. 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.

Topography: The existence of an arch dedicated to Marcus Aurelius is based on a cycle of twelve reliefs that would have been used to decorate it, eight of which were reused in the Arch of Constantine, three that are preserved in the Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museums) and a final one that was destroyed and of which only a fragment remains, currently preserved in Copenhagen. The reliefs, carved in two tranches in 173 and 176, were previously attributed to an "arcus aureus" or the "arcus Panis Aurei in Capitolio". This arch was quoted in medieval sources and which would have been located at the foot of the Capitoline...