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The Tropaeum Traiani is a monument in Roman Civitas Tropaensium (site of modern Adamclisi, Romania), built in 109 in then Moesia Inferior, to commemorate Roman Emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians, in 102, in the Battle of Tapae. The monument was erected on the place where legio XXI Rapax had previously been defeated in 92. Before Trajan's construction, an altar existed there, on the walls of which were inscribed the names of the 3,000 legionaries and auxilia (servicemen) who had died "fighting for the Republic". (Latin: Tropaeum from Greek: Tropaion, source of English: "trophy").
Trajan's monument was inspired by the Augustus mausoleum, and was dedicated to the god Mars Ultor in 107/108 AD. On the monument there were 54 metopes depicting Roman legions fighting against enemies; most of these metopes are preserved in the museum nearby. The monument was supposed to be a warning to the tribes outside this newly conquered province.[1]
The original monument has long since disintegrated. The present edifice is a reconstruction dating from 1977. The nearby museum contains many archaeological objects, including parts of the original Roman monument. Of the original 54 metopes, 48 are in the museum and 1 is in Istanbul.
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The monument was decorated with a large inscription dedicated to Mars Ultor (the revenger). The inscription has been preserved fragmentarily from two sides of the trophy hexagone, so it could be reconstructed as follows:[2]
MARTI ULTOR[I]
IM[P(erator)CAES]AR DIVI
NERVA[E] F(ILIUS) N[E]RVA
TRA]IANUS [AUG(USTUS) GERM(ANICUS)]
DAC]I[CU]S PONT(IFEX) MAX(IMUS)
TRIB(UNICIA) POTEST(ATE) XIII
IMP(ERATOR) VI CO(N)S(UL) V P(ater) P(atriae)
?VICTO EXERC]ITU D[ACORUM]
?---- ET SARMATA]RUM
---------------------]E 31.
The inscription from the main monument can be translated in this way:
"To Mars, the god of war, Caesar the emperor, son of divine Nerva, Nerva Trajan, Augustus, who defeated the Germans, the Dacians, great priest, for the 13th time tribune of the plebeians, proclaimed emperor by the army for the 6th time, elected consul for the 5th time, father of our homeland, after defeating the Dacian and the Sarmatian armies."
On the monument was a frieze comprising 54 metopes. 48 metopes are hosted in the Adamclisi museum in Corbu village, and one metope is hosted by Istanbul Archaeology Museum, the rest having been lost (There is a reference from Giurescu that two of them fell into Danube River during the transport to Bucharest).[3]
"in honorem et in memoriam fortissimorum virorum qui pugnantes pro republica morte occubuerunt" [2]
The monument was restored based on a hypothetical reconstruction in 1977.
The name of the site was given after the monument, the ancient name of the city is unknown.