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Primary sourceArtifactc. 100-113 AD

Trajan's Forum

Apollodorus of Damascus · c. 100-113 AD

The last and grandest of Rome's imperial forums, built by Trajan with spoils from his Dacian conquest to display his power through architecture.

Trajan commissioned this forum using spoils from his own Dacian conquest to celebrate his reign.

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Plan drawing of the Imperial Fora in Rome. Labeled features include Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column, Basilica Ulpia, Temple of Trajan, Libraries, Markets of Trajan, Forum of Augustus, Forum of Nerva, Temple of Peace, Forum of Caesar, and Curia, with a scale bar in metres and feet.
Plan of Trajan's Forum, Monti, Rome.

About this source

What it is

Trajan's Forum was the final imperial forum built in ancient Rome, ordered by Trajan and overseen by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus. Construction began in the early 100s AD and the complex, including a huge piazza, the Basilica Ulpia, libraries, markets, and Trajan's Column, was paid for using wealth seized after the conquest of Dacia.

Why it matters

The forum shows how Trajan converted military victory into lasting civic monuments for the city of Rome. Its scale amazed later visitors, including a later emperor who reportedly marveled at it centuries afterward. The complex held state archives and libraries, making it also a center of record-keeping and learning, closely tied to Trajan's public image as a builder-emperor.

Look closer

  • Why would an emperor spend war spoils on public buildings rather than keeping the wealth?
  • What does the forum's size and decoration tell us about Roman ideas of good government?
  • What has survived to today, and what has been lost or built over?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Trajan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Tall marble Trajan's Column in Rome, a fluted column with spiral relief bands, topped by a bronze statue on a balcony platform. Behind it is a domed church with a lantern and tall buildings under a clear blue sky.Sculpture

Primary source

Trajan's Column

Apollodorus of Damascus · 113 AD

Plain red cloth book cover with fine vertical ribbed texture and a darker spine edge on the left side. No title or text is visible.Speech

Primary source

Panegyricus

Pliny the Younger · c. 100 AD

Front view of the Arch of Trajan in Benevento, a white marble Roman triumphal arch with carved relief panels and a long inscription on the attic, under a clear blue sky. Tourists stand on the paved square at left, and a tour bus and a small rounded shrub are visible on the right.Artifact

Secondary source

Arch of Trajan at Benevento

114-117 AD

Marble head sculpture of a man with short, combed, curled hair over the forehead, a stern brow, a straight nose, and a slight closed-mouth expression. The head rests on a plain base against a brick-colored wall.Sculpture

Primary source

Portrait of Trajan

Dark brown cloth book cover with a white library label reading UC-NRLF and barcode $B 501 045, and a debossed decorative emblem with lettering in the center. The spine is visible on the left edge.Book

Secondary source

Roman History, Book 68

Cassius Dio · early 3rd century AD

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