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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2048715, member: 56859&quot;][ATTACH=full]375820[/ATTACH]</p><p><i><font size="3">Trajan. CE 98-117.&nbsp; Rome mint, CE 114-115.&nbsp; AR denarius, 18 mm, 3.7 gm.&nbsp; IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC. Laureate and draped bust right / P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R. Trajan’s column surmounted by statue of Trajan, holding patera and scepter; two eagles at base.&nbsp; RIC II 35</font></i></p><p><br /></p><p>One of the most desirable issues for Trajan collectors, this denarius depicts the triumphal column of Trajan, an incredible and <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Trajan's+Column/@41.8922915,12.4841644,440a,20y,41.63t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m7!1m4!3m3!1s0x132f61b2d423ee1f:0x9dc836ce4ae28be8!2sTrajan's+Column!3b1!3m1!1s0x132f61b2d423ee1f:0x9dc836ce4ae28be8" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Trajan's+Column/@41.8922915,12.4841644,440a,20y,41.63t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m7!1m4!3m3!1s0x132f61b2d423ee1f:0x9dc836ce4ae28be8!2sTrajan's+Column!3b1!3m1!1s0x132f61b2d423ee1f:0x9dc836ce4ae28be8" rel="nofollow">still-standing tribute</a> to the emperor&#039;s successful Dacian campaigns of CE 101-2 and 105-6.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Trajan%27s_Column_Panorama.jpeg/500px-Trajan%27s_Column_Panorama.jpeg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><font size="3">image from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan%27s_Column#mediaviewer/File:Trajan%27s_Column_Panorama.jpeg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan%27s_Column#mediaviewer/File:Trajan%27s_Column_Panorama.jpeg" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia</a></font></p><p><br /></p><p><b>About the column</b></p><ul> <li>Completed in CE 113</li> <li>Funded by the spoils of the Dacian wars</li> <li>35 meters tall (125 feet), including the base</li> <li>The shaft is composed of 20 drums of Carrera marble, each ~3.7 meters in diameter (11 feet)</li> <li>A spiral staircase within leads to a viewing platform</li> <li>The bas relief friezes spiral 23 times up the column and has 155 scenes with more than 2600 carved figures.&nbsp;&nbsp; Unwound, the frieze measures 190 meters (625 feet) in length.</li> <li>The story of both Dacian wars are shown in the friezes.&nbsp; The first war starts at the bottom, a beautiful carving of Victory separates the two stories.</li> <li>Trajan&#039;s and Plotina&#039;s ashes were interred in the column&#039;s base (since removed)</li> <li>The topping statue of Trajan, lost in the middle ages, was replaced by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.&nbsp; St. Peter&#039;s statue remains atop the column to this day.</li> </ul><p><br /></p><p><b>How did they lift the 32-ton marble drums that high?</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Probably by something similar to this lifting tower:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/1586_Rome_obelisk_erection.jpg/480px-1586_Rome_obelisk_erection.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Where&#039;s Trajan?</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Trajan appears 59 times in the friezes.&nbsp; He is distinctive and the carving realistic enough to pick him out, although with 2600 figures to sort through it&#039;s a bit like finding Waldo.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]375837[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>A fun and fanciful tour book story</b></p><p><br /></p><p><i>&quot;The column&#039;s survival was largely thanks to the intervention of Pope Gregory the Great (reigned 590-604). He was so moved by a relief showing Trajan helping a woman whose son had been killed that he begged God to release the emperor&#039;s soul from hell. God duly appeared to the pope to say that Trajan had been rescued, but asked him not to pray for the souls of any more pagans. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>According to legend, when Trajan&#039;s ashes were exhumed his skull and tongue were not only intact, but his tongue told of his release from hell.&nbsp; </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The land around the column was then declared sacred and the column itself was spared.&quot;&nbsp; </i>--<a href="http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/trajan_s_column.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/trajan_s_column.htm" rel="nofollow">ItalyGuides.it</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Further reading</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/~trajan/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/~trajan/" rel="nofollow">Dartmouth.edu</a>, detailed studies of the column</p><p><a href="http://www.unrv.com/five-good-emperors/dacian-wars.php" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.unrv.com/five-good-emperors/dacian-wars.php" rel="nofollow">United Nations of Roma Victrix</a>, summary of the Dacian wars</p><p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/trajans-column/id787133896?mt=8&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/trajans-column/id787133896?mt=8&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D4" rel="nofollow">Trajan&#039;s Column iPad app</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your Trajan&#039;s Columns <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b></b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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