Constantine’s Arch and His Military Image at Rome

This chapter analyzes the Arch of Constantine in Rome. First, it focuses on the roles of the SPQR and the emperor in the arch's design. In particular, the chapter deals with Constantine's role, or his conception of his role in the urbs, in the arch's imagery. Second, this chapter examines the meaning of the claim triumphis insignem —that is, that an arch, still customarily associated with triumph by the fourth century, was in this instance bestowed for a new purpose with a unique rationale, in a particular historical context, despite a lack of any persuasive evidence that an official triumph was actually celebrated. And finally, this chapter elucidates the arch's evocation of the emperor's role, both at home and abroad, as both civilis princeps and imperator exercitus .

Ancient history · Arch · Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology) · Emperor · Epistemology · Evocation · Genealogy · Literature · Meaning (existential) · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Philosophy