Ethan Bailey

Mrs. Tiedeman
AP Art History
24 October 2016
The Forum of Trajan
The forum of Trajan, also known as Forum Ulpium, was built during the reign of
Domitian under the vanguard architect Apollodorus. During the construction of the forum, there
was a pause due to the assassination of Domitian from AD 97 to AD 106-107. The forum was
built mainly from spoils of war, however Domitian is suspected to have used the treasury for this
and many other projects. When finished, the forum contained both a public area, called the
Column of Trajan, and a private area called the Temple of Divine Trajan. The Column of Trajan
was a column of frieze containing many inscriptions and portrayals of war. Beside the column
was a hemicycle on the eastern side of the forum, known as the Markets of Trajan. The Markets
of Trajan would have most likely contained offices and shops during the construction of the
forum.