The magnificent Trajan`s Forum, the last of the imperial fora, was constructed in honor of the conquest of Dacia by Trajan in 112 A.D. It is closely adjacent to the Roman Forum and the monument of Victor Emmanuel II.
The Dacians often attacked the Roman Empire so the emperor Trajan undertook two campaigns against them, in 101-102 A.D. and 105-106 A.D. As a result, the expansive lands of Dacia were completely subjugated and included in the Roman Empire. The gold mines in the mountains of Transylvania made the conquest of Dacia financially very important for the Roman Empire. So, Trajan decided to honor it not only with a triumphal arch and a column but with a big forum.
It consisted of numerous covered colonnades of 120 х 200 meters. The Basilica Ulpia was in the north of the forum. Most columns of the basilica survived to our days. The trophies got in Dacia were on display just in this basilica. There also was a triumphal arch. But it did not survived to our days. Trajan`s Market is also in very good condition now.
The column of Trajan is between Latin and Greek libraries. Two beautiful baroque churches were built on the site of the libraries in 17 century: Santa Maria di Loreto and Santissimo Nome di Maria.
The column of Trajan is still in very good condition and is one of the main sights of the Trajan`s Forum. It was built of Carrara marble in 113 A.D. The column reaches the height of 38 meters.
The column is 23 times wrapped by a band of 190 meters with bas-reliefs depicting the episodes of war with Dacia. Originally, the column was crowned with the statue of Trajan, which was replaced by that of the apostle Peter in 16 century.
