Arch Of Constantine

To honor Emperor Constantine the Great, the Arch of Constantine was constructed. It allowed for the emperor's triumph over Maxentius in the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. The Arch of Constantine was designed and built by the Roman Senate to commemorate the victory. Marble revetted brick-faced concrete was used to construct the building. With measurements of 69 feet high, 85 feet wide, and 24 feet deep, the monument is the biggest triumphal arch in Roman architecture. It too has three bays with distinct column designs.

The Senate dedicated the arch, which was built between 312 and 315, on July 25, 315, to mark the ten years of Constantine's rule (306-337) and his triumph against Maxentius, who had been in power at the time, at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. The Roman Senate not only provided the triumphal arch for Constantine, but they also celebrated decennia, a series of games that take place every ten years for the Romans. On this occasion, they prayed a lot as well. However, the Senate actually ordered the monument after Constantine entered Rome on October 29, 312, to great jubilation. Then, two months later, Constantine left Rome and didn't come back until 326.

Where the head of an earlier emperor was replaced by that of Constantine, the artist was still able to achieve a "soft, delicate rendering of the face of Constantine," which was "a far cry from the dominant style of the workshop." Ernst Kitzinger called the contrast between the styles of the newly made Imperial reliefs of Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius "violent" and dramatic. It is still the most impressive municipal monument that has survived from Rome in Late Antiquity, but it is also one of the most contentious in terms of its meanings and origins.