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===Roman triumphal arches<!--'Roman triumphal arch' and 'Roman triumphal arches' redirect here-->=== {{See also|List of Roman triumphal arches}} Roman aqueducts, bridges, amphitheaters and domes employed arch principles and technology.<ref name="Arches 1998"/><ref name="Honour">{{cite book|last1=Honour|first1=Hugh|last2=Fleming|first2=John|title=A world history of art|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-1-85669-451-3}}</ref> The Romans probably borrowed the techniques of arch construction from their Etruscan neighbours.<ref name="Arches 1998">"Arches." Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Carroll Moulton. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. 45-46. World History in Context. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.</ref> The [[Etruscans]] used elaborately decorated single bay arches as gates or portals to their cities; examples of Etruscan arches survive at [[Perugia]] and [[Volterra]].<ref name=Zaho>{{cite book|last=Zaho|first=Margaret Ann|title=Imago triumphalis: the function and significance of triumphal imagery for Italian Renaissance rulers|url=https://archive.org/details/imagotriumphalis00annz|url-access=limited|pages=[https://archive.org/details/imagotriumphalis00annz/page/n30 18]–25|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8204-6235-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/163/ |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> The two key elements of the Roman triumphal arch – a round-topped arch and a square entablature – had long been in use as separate architectural elements in [[ancient Greece]], but the Greeks preferred the use of entablatures in their [[Greek temple|temples]], and almost entirely confined their use of the arch to structures under external pressure, such as tombs and sewers. The Roman triumphal arch combined a round arch and a square entablature in a single free-standing structure. What were originally supporting columns became purely decorative elements on the outer face of arch, while the entablature, liberated from its role as a building support, became the frame for the civic and religious messages that the arch builders wished to convey through the use of statuary and symbolic, narrative and decorative elements.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=George H.|title=Not built in a day: exploring the architecture of Rome|pages=[https://archive.org/details/notbuiltindayexp00sull/page/133 133–134]|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7867-1749-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/notbuiltindayexp00sull/page/133}}</ref> The largest arches often had three archways, the central one significantly larger. The minority type of arch with passageways in both directions, often placed at crossroads, is called a [[tetrapylon]] (or ''arcus quadrifrons'' in Latin), as it has four [[pier (architecture)|piers]]. Roman examples are usually roughly cubical, like the [[Arch of Septimius Severus (Leptis Magna)|Arch of Septimius Severus]] in [[Leptis Magna]], [[Libya]], but modern examples, like the [[Arc de Triomphe]], tend to be oblong, with clear main faces and smaller side faces. Examples with three arches on the long face as well as arches at the ends, so with eight piers, are called [[octopylon]]s. The [[Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel]] in Paris is an example. The modern term ''triumphal arch'' derives from the notion that this form of architecture was connected to the award and commemoration of a [[Roman triumph|triumph]] to particularly successful Roman generals, by vote of the [[Roman senate]]. The earliest arches set up to commemorate a triumph were made in the time of the [[Roman Republic]].<ref name="Britannica">"Triumphal arch." Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref> These were called ''[[Arch|fornices]]'' (s. ''fornix'') and bore imagery that described and commemorated the victory and triumph. Lucius Steritinus is known to have erected two such ''fornices'' in 196 BC to commemorate his victories in [[Hispania]]. Another ''fornix'' was built on the [[Capitoline Hill]] by [[Scipio Africanus]] in 190 BC, and [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus]] constructed one in the Roman Forum in 121 BC.<ref name="Grove Art">F. B. Sear and Richard John. "Triumphal arch." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 30 Jul. 2010</ref> None of these structures has survived and little is known about their appearance.<ref name="Britannica" /> Roman triumphal practices changed significantly at the start of the [[Roman Empire|imperial period]] when the ''[[princeps]]'' [[Augustus]] decreed that triumphs and triumphal honours were to be confined to members of the Imperial family; in practice, this meant the ruling emperor or his antecedents. The term ''fornix'' was replaced by ''arcus'' (arch). While Republican ''fornices'' could be erected by a ''triumphator'' at his own discretion and expense, Imperial triumphal arches were sponsored by decree of the senate, or sometimes by wealthy holders of high office, to honour and promote emperors, their office and the values of empire.<ref name=Zaho /> Arches were not necessarily built as entrances, but – unlike many modern triumphal arches – they were often erected across roads and were intended to be passed through, not around.<ref name="Honour" /> <gallery heights="180" caption="Types of Roman triumphal arches" mode="packed"> File:Leptis Magna Arch of Septimus Severus.jpg|The [[Arch of Septimius Severus (Leptis Magna)|Arch of Septimius Severus]] at [[Leptis Magna]], Libya, a four-arched [[tetrapylon|''arcus quadrifrons'']], built {{circa|203 AD}} File:RomeForumRomanumArchofSeptimiusSeverus01.jpg|The [[Arch of Septimius Severus]] in Rome, built in 203–205 AD to commemorate the [[Roman-Parthian Wars|Parthian victories]] of Emperor [[Septimius Severus]] and his two sons, [[Caracalla]] and [[Publius Septimius Geta|Geta]] File:Porte Caracalla - Tébessa باب كركلا - تبسة 3.jpg|The [[Arch of Caracalla (Thebeste)|Arch of Caracalla]] in [[Tébessa|Tebessa]], Algeria, built {{circa|210 AD}} by a general from the city, dedicated to Emperor Caracalla File:Arch of Galerius (Thessaloniki) 20180222.jpg|The [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda]] in [[Thessaloniki]], Greece, built in 298–299 AD and dedicated in 303 AD to celebrate the victory of the [[tetrarchy|tetrarch]] [[Galerius]] over the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid Persians]] and capture of their capital [[Ctesiphon]] in 298 AD File:Arch of Constantine (Rome) - South side, from Via triumphalis.jpg|The [[Arch of Constantine]] in Rome, built in 312–315 AD to commemorate Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]]'s victory over [[Maxentius]] at the [[Battle of Milvian Bridge]] in 312 AD </gallery> Most Roman triumphal arches were built during the Imperial period. By the fourth century AD there were 36 such arches in Rome, of which three have survived – the [[Arch of Titus]] (AD 81), the [[Arch of Septimius Severus]] (203–205) and the [[Arch of Constantine]] (315). Numerous arches were built elsewhere in the Roman Empire.<ref name="Britannica" /> The single arch was the most common, but many triple arches were also built, of which the [[Triumphal Arch of Orange]] (''circa'' AD 21) is the earliest surviving example. From the 2nd century AD, many examples of the ''arcus quadrifrons'' – a square triumphal arch erected over a crossroads, with arched openings on all four sides – were built, especially in North Africa. Arch-building in Rome and Italy diminished after the time of Trajan (AD 98–117) but remained widespread in the provinces during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD; they were often erected to commemorate imperial visits.<ref name="Grove Art" /> Little is known about how the Romans viewed triumphal arches. [[Pliny the Elder]], writing in the first century AD, was the only ancient author to discuss them.<ref name="Fürst" /> He wrote that they were intended to "elevate above the ordinary world" an image of an honoured person usually depicted in the form of a statue with a [[quadriga]].<ref name="Fürst">{{cite book|author1=Ulrich Fürst|author2=Stefan Grundmann|title=The architecture of Rome: an architectural history in 400 presentations|page=43|publisher=Edition Axel Menges|year=1998|isbn=978-3-930698-60-8}}</ref> However, the designs of Roman imperial triumphal arches – which became increasingly elaborate over time and evolved a regularised set of features – were clearly intended to convey a number of messages to the spectator. The ornamentation of an arch was intended to serve as a constant visual reminder of the triumph and ''triumphator''. As such, it concentrated on factual imagery rather than allegory. The façade was ornamented with marble columns, and the piers and attics with decorative [[cornice]]s. Sculpted panels depicted victories and achievements, the deeds of the ''triumphator'', the captured weapons of the enemy or the triumphal procession itself. The [[spandrel]]s usually depicted flying [[Victoria (mythology)|Victories]], while the attic was often inscribed with a dedicatory inscription naming and praising the ''triumphator''. The piers and internal passageways were also decorated with reliefs and free-standing sculptures. The vault was ornamented with [[coffer]]s. Some triumphal arches were surmounted by a statue or a ''currus triumphalis'', a group of statues depicting the emperor or general in a [[quadriga]].<ref name="Zaho" /><ref name="Grove Art" /> The inscriptions on Roman triumphal arches were works of art in themselves, with very finely cut, sometimes gilded letters. The form of each letter and the spacing between them was carefully designed for maximum clarity and simplicity, without any decorative flourishes, emphasizing the Roman taste for restraint and order. This conception of what later became the art of [[typography]] remains of fundamental importance down to the present day.<ref name="Honour" /> <gallery heights="180" caption="Ornamentation on Roman triumphal arches" mode="packed"> File:Fra-titusbuen.jpg|[[Titus]]' triumphal procession depicted on the Arch of Titus, showing the loot captured from [[Jerusalem]] in 81 AD File:Detail Arch of Septimus Severus1.JPG|The elaborate carvings and coffered vault of the [[Arch of Septimius Severus]] in Rome File:Arch-of-Galerius-1.jpg|Galerius (L) attacks Narses (R). [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda|Arch of Galerius]]. File:FriezeNorth5.jpg|Frieze on the [[Arch of Constantine]], in Rome, depicting [[Constantine I]] distributing gifts to the people </gallery>
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