Romans were familiar with triumphal monuments that decorated major and minor cities and even dominated the countryside. However, the grandiose monument, the largest surviving Roman triumphal arch, is also evidence of an inconvenient, almost shameful victory. The Arch of Constantine is a silent witness of that change. The reign of Constantine and his dynasty ushered the Empire into a new era, which completely transformed not only the Roman world but the very course of history. A year later the emperor recognized Christianity as religio licita, a permitted religion on the territory of the entire Empire. His death left the victor – Constantine the Great – in control of the western half of the Roman Empire (after 324, Constantine was the sole ruler of the Empire). On October 28th, 312 CE, Emperor Maxentius drowned in the Tiber, along with most of his army. Further, the Christian connection preserved the monument for posterity.Īrch of Constantine: The Monument To An Inconvenient Victory The Arch of Constantine, (south side), 315 CE, Rome, photographed by the author The combination of pagan elements and details referencing emerging Christianity, make the Arch of Constantine a unique structure a transition recorded in stone, not only of religion and culture but also of art. But it also acted as proof of the emperor’s legitimacy, and a symbol of the emerging Constantinian ideology – as shown by the careful choice of spolia (reused material) – linking Constantine to the most successful Roman emperors. The Arch commemorates Constantine’s victory in the civil war, which left him the sole ruler of the Roman empire. Located right next to the Colosseum, the monument played an important role in legitimizing the rule of the Emperor Constantine the Great. Modeled on the nearby Arch of Septimius Severus, the monument is an imposing 21-meter-high, and 25.7 meters-wide rectangular block of grey and white Proconnesian marble, with its three separate arches framed by columns. The Arch of Constantine is the largest surviving Roman triumphal arch. The Arch of Constantine, 315 CE, Rome with Colossus of Constantine, 312-315, photographed by the author
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