The Plutei of Trajan (Latin ''Plutei Traiani''; often called the ''Anaglypha Traiani'') are carved stone balustrades built for the Roman emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. They are on display inside the

Curia Julia The Curia Julia ( la, Curia Iulia, links=no, it, Curia Iulia, links=no) is the third named ''curia'', or senate house, in the ancient city of Rome. It was built in 44 BC, when Julius Caesar replaced Faustus Cornelius Sulla's reconstructed Curia ...

in the

Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...

today, but are not part of the original structure. It is unknown exactly where Trajan erected them. They are believed to have been built either on the edge of the

Rostra The rostra ( it, Rostri, links=no) was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deli ...

or on the sides of the

Lapis Niger The Lapis Niger (Latin, "Black Stone") is an ancient shrine in the Roman Forum. Together with the associated Vulcanal (a sanctuary to Vulcan) it constitutes the only surviving remnants of the old Comitium, an early assembly area that preceded t ...

marking the underground "Tomb of Romulus". In spite of this uncertainty, they are of great historical value because the carvings show the full length of both sides of the Forum at the time they were erected.

Description

Foreground carvings

The relief on the right side shows Trajan in the Forum Romanum, where he institutes a charitable organisation for orphans (known as the ''

alimenta The alimenta was a Roman welfare program that existed from around 98 AD to 272 AD. According to most modern historians, including Nerva biographers Nathan Elkins and John Grainger, it was initiated by emperor Nerva and expanded by Trajan. It he ...

''). Trajan is seated on a podium in the middle of the Forum, together with a personification of

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

carrying a child on her arm. The left relief shows the destruction of tax records in the presence of the emperor, probably Hadrian in 118, to the tune of 900 million sesterces. The wooden tablets with the tax records are carried forth and burned in the presence of the emperor, who is standing in front of the

. The practice of "fiscal pardon" had been carried out previously under Trajan following his victory in the

First Dacian War The First Roman–Dacian War took place from 101 to 102. The Kingdom of Dacia, under King Decebalus, had become a threat to the Roman Empire, and defeated several of Rome's armies during Domitian's reign (81–96). The Emperor Trajan was set on ...

in 102.

Background carvings

The backgrounds of both the right and left sides depict buildings on the Forum Romanum. On the right relief, depicted left to right, the buildings are: The

Ficus Ruminalis The ''Ficus Ruminalis'' was a wild fig tree that had religious and mythological significance in ancient Rome. It stood near the small cave known as the Lupercal at the foot of the Palatine Hill and was the spot where according to tradition the ...

and the statue of

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe (''aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...

; the

Basilica Julia The Basilica Julia ( it, Basilica Giulia) was a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated. What is lef ...

; the

Temple of Saturn The Temple of Saturn (Latin: ''Templum Saturni'' or '' Aedes Saturni''; it, Tempio di Saturno) was an ancient Roman temple to the god Saturn, in what is now Rome, Italy. Its ruins stand at the foot of the Capitoline Hill at the western end of ...

; the

Temple of Vespasian and Titus The Temple of Vespasian and Titus ( la, Templum divi Vespasiani,Platner, Samuel B., and Ashby, Thomas. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. London: Oxford UP, 1929; p. 556. it, Tempio di Vespasiano) is located in Rome at the western e ...

; and the Rostra (only one of which is visible). A part of the relief is missing, where the

Temple of Concord The Temple of Concord ( la, Aedes Concordiae) in the ancient city of Rome refers to a series of shrines or temples dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia, and erected at the western end of the Roman Forum. The earliest temple is believed t ...

should have been. On the left, again from left to right: the speakers' platform in front of the

Temple of Divus Julius The Temple of Caesar or Temple of Divus Iulius ( la, Aedes Divi Iuli; it, Tempio del Divo Giulio), also known as Temple of the Deified Julius Caesar, ''delubrum'', '' heroon'' or Temple of the Comet Star,Pliny the Elder, ''Naturalis Historia'', ...

; the Arch of Augustus; the

Temple of Castor and Pollux The Temple of Castor and Pollux ( it, Tempio dei Dioscuri) is an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces ...

; the

Vicus Tuscus Vicus Tuscus ("Etruscan Street" or "Tuscan Street") was an ancient street in the city of Rome, running southwest out of the Roman Forum between the Basilica Julia and the Temple of Castor and Pollux towards the Forum Boarium and Circus Maximus via ...

; the Basilica Julia; the Ficus Ruminalis and the statue of Marsyas.

References

sights.seindal.dk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plutei Of Trajan Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century Roman Forum Trajan Rome R. X Campitelli Architectural sculpture