Imperial forums

The Imperial Forums are a series of great places. Their construction required one century and half (between -46 and 113). They are located in the middle of the Rome emperors.

On the other hand, the Forum romanum , i.e. the old republican place, does not form part of it. Indeed, its first construction goes up at the time of the Roman Monarchie (VIe front century J. - C.). This place was during centuries the political, religious and economic center of the city. Even with the new buildings and the rebuilding of oldest, it making more majestic, the forever known Forum romanum a unitary character. Under César and Auguste, the construction of the Basilica Julienne and the rebuilding of the Émilienne, which delimited the large sides of the place, conferred to him at the end a certain regularity.

Forum of César year 46 before our era

Jules César decided to build a great place bearing its name, the Forum of César, which was inaugurated in 46. At that time, the forum was probably still incomplete. It was finished by Auguste.

Contrary to the old man Forum romanum , this project had an architectural unit: a place with gantries on the longest edges and, in the center towards the bottom, a temple dedicated to Venus Genitrix. Indeed, Jules César praised himself to kill from the goddess by Iule the progenitor of the family of the “Julien”, wire of Énée, which in its turn was wire of the goddess.

César paid its pocket the grounds on which the new monument was to set up. It made moreover modify the traditional one and secular orientation of the Curie, seat of the Sénat. César was indeed charged to rebuild it, after its destruction by a fire, so that it adapts to the new forum which bore its name.

The new place took again the model of the gantries built around the temples that most important and influential politicians of the last century of the Republic had made build in the zone of the Cirque Flaminius and had the same aims of personal propaganda and research of the consensus. Naturally, the vicinity of the historical political center increased the effect largely of it.

Forum of Auguste year 2 before our era

Auguste had promised a temple at Mars Ultor (i.e. Vengeur) during the Bataille of Philips in 42 before our era, in which Marc Antoine and demolished the assassins of César to him, thus avenging its death. This temple was inaugurated only 40 years after, in the year 2 before our era, inserted in one second esplanade, the Forum of Auguste. This one was financed by the spoils piled up during the Civil wars. It was restored on several occasions, in particular under Hadrian. The senators met here to declare the war and to decide peace.

Compared to the Forum of César, the new complex is directed orthogonally and the temple is pressed on a very high wall, today still present, which separated the monument from the popular quarters of Suburre. The gantries which were érigaient on the edges opened moreover other side on full exèdres (semicircular space cover), intended to accommodate the activities of the courts.

In this case also, the construction of the complex had ends of propaganda and its whole decoration celebrates the new golden age which starts with the empire of Auguste: the victories are magnifiées there with caryatids representing the overcome nations. Statues of its generals and ancestors of the people Julia also appear in good place. In the axis of the temple of Mars drew up the equestrian statue of Auguste.

Temple of Peace 75

Under the emperor Vespasien was built another esplanade, separated from the Forum of Auguste and that of César by the Via dell' Argileto, which connected the Roman Forum to the Suburre. In fact, this place was offset towards the Velia in direction of the Colisée. This complex in the beginning was not regarded as being one of the imperial Forums. It gained this title at one later time. Indeed, it was known under the name of Temple of Peace.

Its form is different. It is about a vast quadrilateral surrounded by gantries, the temple being inserted in the gantry into the bottom. The central zone moreover was not paved like a place, but was arranged in gardens, with basins of water and bases for statue, transforming it into a true museum with open sky.

The monument was built to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem. In one of the halls which opened on the bottom of the gantries was posted the “Forma Urbis Severiana”, the marble chart of the ancient Rome, engraved at the time of the Sévères (beginning of the 3rd century) on the marble plates which covered the walls. This work reached us only partially.

Forum of Nerva 98 or transitory Forum

Domitien decided to unify the preceding structures. In the irregular zone remained free between the Temple of Peace and the forums of César and Auguste, there made build another esplanade which put them all in communication.

Restricted space, partly occupied by the presence of one of the Exèdre S of the forum of Auguste on the one hand and on the other hand in which was to be related preserved to passage of the Argiletum, forced it to reduce the side gantries to a simple decoration of the perimetric walls. Temple, dedicated to goddess Minerve (her protective as it was it for the demigod Hercules), outside the exèdre forum of Auguste rested, while space remaining was used for a monumental entry (“Porticus Absidata”) which was to become the entry of all these monumental complexes.

The death of Domitien made that the complex, almost finished, was inaugurated by its successor Nerva. It is what explains why it took the name of Forum of Nerva.

It is also known under the name of transitory forum ( forum transitorium ), due to the function of passage which it preserved at the place of the Argiletum.

Forum of Trajan 112 and 113

The projects of Domitien had perhaps been even more ambitious. Already under its reign work of clearing of the small collar had started which linked the hill of the Capitole to that of the Quirinal, and which closed the valley of the forums towards the Champ de Mars, in direction of current Piazza Venezia, thus limiting space available for other monumental complexes.

The project was taken again then supplemented by Trajan with the construction of the Forum of Trajan, carried out with the spoils of its conquest campaigns of the Dacie and whose decorations celebrate its military victories.

The preparatory work themselves was imposing: the clearing of the small collar, necessary to find space with the new complex, implied the rebuilding of the Temple of Venus Genitrix on the Forum of César. To the gantries of this last space for the Basilique Argentaria was added, while the notch carried out on the slopes of the Quirinal is occupied by brick construction of the Marchés of Trajan.

The esplanade of the forum was closed at the bottom by the Basilique Ulpia, behind which was set up the Colonne of Trajan. As in the Forum of Auguste, the gantries opened at the bottom on large exèdres. On the side opposite of the basilica, a monumental frontage was used basic for the colossal equestrian statue of the emperor. The last of the forums was also largest and most majestic.

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