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Monument
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 ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUSThe mighty triumphal arch with three archways, 20.88 m (68 feet) high and 23.27 m (76 feet) wide, is among the best-preserved monuments in the Forum. According to the dedicatory inscription on the attic story, it was erected by the “Senate and People of Rome” (as indicated by the abbreviation SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the accession of Emperor Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla in A.D. 203. Originally the inscription also mentioned Geta, the second son of Septimius Severus, but his brother Caracalla murdered him after their father’s death and his name removed from all state monuments, a procedure called the damnatio memoriae. The Arch is Faces with marble and bears profuse relief decoration, now badly weathered, celebrating the emperor’s victory over the Parthians and Arabs. Beside large statues of Roman soldiers with Parthian prisoners shown on the plinths, scenes from the two campaigns are depicted on the reliefs above the side archways. The frieze shows the imperial triumph. We know from images on coins that the arch was once surmounted by a bronze quadriga (four-horse chariot) with statues of the two mighty emperors.
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