384306 5 Location 533661 <p>The city of Ancient Rome is home to many triumphal arches. They are found practically at every turn, standing proud and strong, proclaiming yet another victorious win for the "eternal city". In fact, there are so many that visitors can spend an entire afternoon touring and pondering these gargantuan trophies. The Arch of Constantine, however, holds a bit more meaning than any of its peers. It marks a great turning point in world history. </p><p>The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch, erected c. 315 CE to commemorate the triumph of Constantine I after his victory over Maxentius in the battle at the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE. The arch is located in the valley of the Colosseum, between the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum, along the road taken by the triumphal processions.</p><p>The arch is the largest of only three such arches to survive in Rome today. The two others are the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Septimius Severus, both in the nearby Forum Romanum.</p><p>The battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE was the decisive moment in Constantine's quest for power. He had been proclaimed Augustus by the troops in Britain in 306 CE, after the death of his father in York, and even though he had no legal right to that title, he refused to relinquish it. Likewise, Maxentius claimed the title of Augustus of the western empire. The conflict was finally resolved in the battle of the Milvian Bridge just N. of Rome, when Constantine's army defeated the numerically superior but less experienced troops of Maxentius. Maxentius perished while trying to flee across the Tiber River, as a temporary bridge made of boats collapsed under him and his troops.</p><p>Constantine entered Rome victoriously, and the senate awarded him a triumphal arch. Construction began immediately, and the arch was finished in a few years, to be consecrated in 315/316 CE on the tenth anniversary of Constantine's rise to power.</p><p>The monument is not mentioned by any ancient source, but it is clearly identified by the inscription.</p><p>The Arch of Constantine is a three-way arch, measuring 21m in height, 25.7m in width and 7.4m in depth. The central archway is 11.5m high and 6.5m wide, while the lateral archways are 7.4m×3.4m. Eight detached Corinthian columns, four on each side, stand on plinths on the sides of the archways. The lower part, the arches and supporting piers, is build of white marble in opus quadratum, while the attic is opus latericium covered with marble slabs. The different construction techniques might indicate different construction times for the two parts, as some theories argue.</p><p>In 315 AD, this arch was dedicated to celebrate the emperor Constantine’s victory over his rival and co-emperor, Maxentius, in 312 AD. The night before that crucial military blow, Constantine had a vision of a cross spread across the sky . Proclaiming he owed his victory to Christ , the now sole emperor legalized and installed Christianity as the state religion in gratitude . In no time at all, it seems, the entire Western World turned away from the pagan practices of old and adopted the religion of a once unpopular and fiercely despised group of believers. </p><p>So, that is the meaning WITHIN this one arch among many , but to seek any meaning ON the arch proves to be a confusing and senseless task. By the fourth century the Roman Empire had already started to dwindle. As a result, this arch was rather hastily built and quilted together with reliefs, medallions and statuary scavenged from earlier monuments. Any tangible or recognizable decoration found will most likely pertain to the emperor Trajan. </p> 2006-07-21T19:30:31-07:00 589299713 2006-06-15T17:00:00-07:00 0 -9223372036854775790 227041 1826774 384306 0 185538 0.245775824709447 2006-06-14T17:00:00-07:00 Published 150.0 2006-07-21T19:30:56-07:00 89178 0