:Forum

Forum’s Early History

At first, the Forum essentially served as a marketplace for day-to-day shopping. Over time, it be-
came much more versatile and functional, as public affairs were held in the area. ... Around the
reign of Julius Caesar, the Forum became overcrowded.

A Forum was the main center of a Roman city. Usually located near the physical center of a Roman
town, it served as a public area in which commercial, religious, economic, political, legal, and so-
cial activities occurred. Fora were common in all Roman cities, but none were as grand as the fora
of Rome itself.

In trajan forum we consider these topic in detail 

•
• 1.forum info
• 2. the basilica ulpia
• 3.market of trajan
• 4.forum sqaure
• 5.Trajan coloumn
Trajan forum

Marble statue of trajan 

This period is often regarded as the height of the Roman empire’s prosperity and stability. The ancient Romans
were so fond of Trajan that they officially bestowed upon him the epithetical title optimus princeps or “the best
first-citizen. 

The Forum of Trajan is elegant—it is rife with signs of top-level architecture and decoration. All of the structures,
save the two libraries (which were built of brick), were built of stone. There is a great deal of exotic, imported
marble and many statues, including gilded examples. The forum was composed of a main square (measuring c.
200 x 120 meters) that was flanked by porticoes (an extended, roofed colonnade), as well as by exedrae (semicir-
cular, recessed spaces) on the eastern (above) and western sides.
Adjacent to the Forum of Trajan is a separate architectural complex attributed to
Trajan that is commonly referred to as the Markets of Trajan. This multi-level com-
mercial complex was built against the flank of the Quirinal Hill which had to be ex-
cavated for the purpose.

Adjacent to the Forum of Trajan is a separate architectural complex attributed to

Trajan that is commonly referred to as the Markets of Trajan. This multi-level com-
mercial complex was built against the flank of the Quirinal Hill which had to be ex-
cavated for the purposedisplaced by the Trajanic building project. The ground floor
offices (at the forum level) were likely occupied by cashiers of the imperial trea-
sury (arcarii caesariani), while upper level rooms may been leased out or used by
imperial officials
 The basilica ulpia

.The main structure at the center of the forum complex is the massive Basilica Ulpia, and beside
that stood two libraries that flanked the Column of Trajan, an honorific monument bearing an
elaborate program of sculpted relief.

The basilica is massive—its overall length is some 169 meters and the interior nave is 25 me-
ters wide. It is apsidal at both ends, with a raised central floor, and the main hall has a dou-
ble surround of columns (96 in total) that were probably of white or yellow marble, in the
Corinthian order. The basilica was also famous in antiquity for its gilded bronze roof tiles, as
commented on by Pausanias, who remarked that the building was “worth seeing not only for
its general beauty but especially for its roof made of bronze” 
Forum square

The main square of the forum was once a vast space, screened by architecture on all
sides and paved in white marble. Several rows of trees, and perhaps rows of statues,
ran parallel to the porticoes. Entry to the forum square was from the south, by way of
a triumphal arch surmounted by a statue of Trajan riding in a triumphal chariot. Al-
though the arch itself is no longer extant

At the center of the Forum square stood a bronze equestrian statue of Trajan, the
Equus Traiani. While the statue itself does not survive, the occasion of a visit to Rome
by Constantius II (in 357 C.E.) preserves a mention of the famous equestrian: “So he
[Constantius II] abandoned all hope of attempting anything like it, and declared that
he would and could imitate simply Trajan’s horse, which stands in the middle of the
court with the emperor on its back.” (Ammianus Marcellinus 16.10.15) We also see
the equestrian statue depicted on a silver denarius struck at Rome c. 112-114/5 C.E.