The Column of Marcus Aurelius is a Roman victory column in Rome’s Piazza Colonna, erected by the Senate and Commodus to honor the dead emperor’s victories in the Danubian wars against Germanic and Sarmatian peoples. Probably begun after Marcus Aurelius’ death in 180 AD and completed around 193 under Septimius Severus, it has stood on the same site since antiquity. Its marble shaft contains an interior stair and is wrapped by a long spiral frieze showing the campaigns, including the famous “rain miracle.” Its dramatic, deeply cut reliefs mark a notable shift from Trajan’s earlier model and helped define late antique visual style.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain