Editing Trajan's Column (section)

== Inscription ==
[[File:Trajan inscription duotone.jpg|thumb|The inscription on the base of Trajan's Column, which uses [[Roman square capitals]]]]
[[File:002 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel II.jpg|thumb|upright|Location of the inscription plate, above the entrance to the interior (upper image)]]

The inscription at the base of the column reads:
{{poemquote|SENATVS·POPVLVS·QVE·ROMANVS
IMP·CAESARI·DIVI·NERVAE·F·NERVAE
TRAIANO·AVG·GERM·DACICO·PONTIF
MAXIMO·TRIB·POT·{{Overline|XVII}}·IMP·{{Overline|VI}}·COS·{{Overline|VI}}·P·P
AD·DECLARANDVM·QVANTAE·ALTITVDINIS
MONS·ET·LOCVS·TANT[IS·OPER]{{efn|The final line is damaged, due to later building work, but the contents of the short [[lacuna (manuscripts)|lacuna]] have been inferred by historians.}}IBVS·SIT·EGESTVS<ref>CIL VI.960</ref><ref name=wellesley_inscription/>}}
Translated to English:
{{blockquote|The [[SPQR|Senate and People of Rome]], to the [[Roman imperial cult|Divine Emperor]] Caesar Nerva Trajan, son of [[Nerva]], [[pontifex maximus|High Priest]], [conqueror of] Germany and Dacia, [vested] with [[Tribune of the plebs#Erosion of the tribunician power at the end of the Republic|the power of the tribune]] 17&nbsp;[times], [[imperator]] 6&nbsp;[times], [[Roman consul|consul]] 6&nbsp;[times], [[pater patriae|father of the nation]], for demonstrating [that] a mountain and a place of such height were excavated for such works.<ref name="wellesley_inscription">{{cite web |last1=Rudolph |first1=Becky |title=Column for Trajan - Honorific Inscription |url=http://omeka.wellesley.edu/piranesi-rome/exhibits/show/column-for-trajan/inscription |website=Piranesi in Rome |publisher=[[Wellesley College]] |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>}}

It was believed{{by whom|date=September 2023}} that the column was supposed to stand where the saddle between the [[Capitoline]] and [[Quirinal]] Hills used to be, having been excavated by Trajan, but excavation has revealed that this is not the case. The saddle was where [[Trajan's Forum]] and [[Trajan's Market]] stood. Hence, the inscription refers to the Trajan's entire building project in the area of the [[Imperial fora]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

This is perhaps the most famous example of [[Roman square capitals]], a script often used for stone monuments and, less often, for manuscript writing. As it was meant to be read from below, the bottom letters are slightly smaller than the top letters, to give proper perspective. Some, but not all, word divisions are marked with a dot, and many of the words, especially the titles, are abbreviated. In the inscription, numerals are marked with a ''titulus'', a bar across the top of the letters. A small piece at the bottom of the inscription has been lost.

The [[typeface]] [[Trajan (typeface)|Trajan]], designed in 1989 by [[Carol Twombly]], uses letter forms based on this inscription, working from the research of [[Edward Catich]]. There have been many other typefaces based on the inscription from such designers as [[Frederic Goudy]] and [[Warren Chappell]].{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}