The Arch of Marcus Aurelius ( ar, قوس ماركوس أوريليوس, Qaus Mārkūs Aurīliyūs) is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...

in the city of Oea, modern

Tripoli, Libya Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...

, where it is found near the northeastern entrance to the Medina.

Characteristics

It is a quadrifrons triumphal arch, surmounted by an unusual octagonal

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...

, and was erected (entirely in marble) by Gaius Calpurnius Celsus, quinquennial

duumvir Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

of the city, to commemorate the victories of

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together wit ...

, junior colleague and adoptive brother of the Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

, over the

Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

in the Roman–Parthian War of 161–66. The monument was actually erected in 165, and cannot be dated later, because the Emperor is referred to with the title ''Armenicus'', but not with the titles of ''Medicus'' and ''Parthicus'', which were conferred on him in 166. The patron deities of the city,

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

appear on the two front pediments, in

biga Biga may refer to: Places * Biga, Çanakkale, a town and district of Çanakkale Province in Turkey * Sanjak of Biga, an Ottoman province * Biga Çayı, a river in Çanakkale Province * Biga Peninsula, a peninsula in Turkey, in the northwest par ...

e drawn by griffons and sphinxes. Other interpretations take the figures in the bigae as representing Lucius Verus and the goddess

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, respectively. Arch Marcus Aurelius Tripoli

The four niches placed on the northeast and southwest faces of the arch are now empty, but they must have contained the statues of the Emperor and Lucius Verus, which were recovered during excavations in the nineteenth century. The arch has been partially buried in the course of the centuries. Immediately after the Italian conquest, it received conservation and restoration work from the Italian administration (1914–1918), while the zone around the arch was reorganized by the Italian architect Florestano Di Fausto in the thirties of last century. It was partially hit during WW2, but only with minor damages. As of 2017, the Arch is suffering from poor maintenance and damage from visitors. Its original features and details have suffered considerable damage due to acid rain.

Characteristics

See also

Notes

Further reading