Depicting barbarism on fire: architectural destruction on the Columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius

Abstract

This article explores the depictions of architecture on the Columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. Trajan’s Column alone features depictions of over 300 architectural structures, the vast majority of which can be clearly associated with either Roman or Dacian culture, and which project a clear disparity between those cultures.1 On both columns, destruction plays a crucial rôle in the contrast between Roman and indigenous architecture and cultures. On Trajan’s, fully one-fourth of Dacian architectural structures are either on fire or threatened by fire. Both Roman soldiers and Dacian warriors participate in this destruction, filling 7 separate sequences that illustrate the annihilation and erasure of Dacian culture in the face of the Roman advance. The theme of architectural destruction as a metaphor for cultural erasure is echoed on the Column of Marcus Aurelius, but with important modifications that speak to differences in how the two monuments portray war, victory, and aggressive imperialism.