Trajan's Column

By Alvesgaspar - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43808385

The Column of Trajan stand roughly 35 meters from ground to zenith. It was completed in 113 BC and contained 23 windings along its main length, depicting the Roman-Dacian War, which Trajan fought and won. The top is crowned with a statuette installed by Sixtus V, but probably originally had either an eagle or an image of Trajan. The friezes along the column's length depict not only the battles and victories in Dacia (modern day Romania, the Romanian language still being classified as a Romance language despite being surround on all sides by isolate or Slavic languages) but also the great logistical efforts that went into moving and supplying an army fielded so distant from the heart of the empire.

The last point there is most of my interest in this specific site. Too often, the focus of history is on great battles and military tactics, often leaving out the immense administrative challenges that had to be overcome. The column as a whole represents a culmination of art, storytelling, and history that should be far too tantalizing for anyone, including myself, pass up.