An Arch for Three Emperors
Historical Context
The year 203 AD was a time of celebration for the Severan dynasty. Septimius Severus, emperor since 193 AD, had conducted two victorious campaigns in the previous decade against the Parthian kingdom — the rival empire controlling Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. The first Parthian war (195 AD) had brought the city of Nisibis back into the Roman orbit; the second (197–198 AD) culminated in the capture and sack of the Parthian capital Ctesiphon, on the Tigris.
These victories were symbolically enormous: Rome had not broken through eastward for decades. For the first time since Trajan, an emperor had pushed the Roman frontiers to what is now Iraq, and imperial propaganda was swift to exploit it. The triumph of 203 was one of the grandest of the late imperial period.
The arch was voted by the Senate and People of Rome in the tenth anniversary of Septimius's reign — the decennalia — and dedicated in 203 AD. The monument is jointly dedicated to Septimius Severus and his two sons: Caracalla (Lucius Septimius Bassianus) and Geta (Publius Septimius Geta).
The Structure
The Arch of Septimius Severus is a triple-bay triumphal arch — a larger central opening flanked by two smaller side openings. The dimensions are considerable: 23 metres high, 25 metres wide, 11 metres deep. It stands on a tall travertine podium that raises it further above the Forum floor.
The load-bearing structure is brick faced with white Proconnesian marble. The composite Corinthian columns flanking the three bays rest on tall pedestals decorated with figures of captive soldiers.
At the top of the attic — the horizontal upper band — there was originally a colossal bronze group: Septimius Severus on a quadriga, with his sons at his sides. The bronze vanished in the Middle Ages, but the foundations for the pedestals are still visible in the attic.
The Reliefs: Four Campaigns in Stone
The Visual Narrative
The most extraordinary aspect of the Arch of Septimius Severus is the four large relief panels decorating the side passages. These constitute an exceptionally ambitious narrative programme: rather than symbolic scenes (such as winged victories or sacrifices typical of earlier arches), these reliefs tell the story of the two Parthian campaigns in an almost cinematic sequence.
Each panel measures approximately 3.9 × 4.8 metres and is divided into stacked horizontal registers — a technique derived from the art of Trajan's Column. The viewer reads the registers from bottom to top, following the narrative thread of the campaign.
Panel I (left bay, north side)
Represents the opening of the first Parthian war: the Roman army on the march, the capture of the city of Nisibis, the surrender of Parthian chieftains before Septimius. In the upper register, the emperor addresses the troops (adlocutio) from the tribune of a military camp.
Panel II (right bay, north side)
Scenes from the second Parthian war: the siege of Edessa, negotiations between Romans and Parthian chiefs, the retreat of Parthian forces. The details of military equipment — helmets, scale armour, siege machines — are of extraordinary precision.
Panel III (left bay, south side)
The culmination of the second campaign: the assault on the city of Seleucia on the Tigris, the capitulation of its defenders. The upper register shows the Romans in the act of sacking the city.
Panel IV (right bay, south side)
The capture of the capital Ctesiphon: Septimius receives the city's surrender, the Parthians in flight. The final register shows the emperor with his sons looking down on the subjugated city.
Accessory Decorative Elements
In the lunettes above the side bays: personifications of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, geographical symbols of the conquered territories. At the four corners of the attic: winged Victories with crowns. In the spandrels of the three bays: river deities and Victory figures. Together these compose an iconographic vocabulary of imperial triumph that would be echoed through the centuries into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The Inscription and the Gap of Fratricide
The Original Text
The inscription on the attic is one of the most studied in the Roman world:
IMP CAESARI DIVI M ANTONINI PII FIL DIVI COMMODI FRATRI DIVI ANTONINI MAGNI NEPOTI DIVI PII PRONEPOTI L SEPTIMIO SEVERO PIO PERTINACI AVG PATRI PATRIAE PARTHICO ARABICO ET PARTHICO ADIABENICO PONTIF MAXIMO TRIB POT XI IMP XI COS III PROCOS ET IMP CAESARI M AVRELIO ANTONINO AVG PIO FELICI TRIB POT VI COS PROCOS PP OPTIMIS FORTISSIMISQVE PRINCIPIBVS OB REM PVBLICAM RESTITVTAM IMPERIVMQVE POPVLI ROMANI PROPAGATVM INSIGNIBVS VIRTVTIBVS EORVM DOMI FORISQVE S P Q R
In translation: "To the Emperor Caesar... Lucius Septimius Severus... and to the Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus... best and strongest of princes, for having restored the res publica and extended the dominion of the Roman people by their distinguished virtues, at home and abroad, the Senate and People of Rome."
Geta Erased
The crucial point is in the fourth line. The original text read:
"...ET P SEPTIMIO GETAE NOBILISSIMO CAESARI"
— "...and to Publius Septimius Geta, most noble Caesar."
Geta was Septimius's younger son, an original dedicatee of the arch alongside his father and elder brother Caracalla.
But in 211 AD, following the death of Septimius Severus, Caracalla had his brother Geta murdered during a reconciliation meeting mediated by their mother Julia Domna. Geta was 22 years old. Damnatio memoriae followed — condemnation of memory: Geta's name was erased from all public monuments throughout the Empire, his statues destroyed, his portraits mutilated.
The Visible Gap
On the Arch of Septimius Severus, Geta's name was chiselled away and replaced with the formula "OPTIMIS FORTISSIMISQUE PRINCIPIBUS" — "to the best and strongest of princes" (plural now referring to Septimius and Caracalla alone). But the replacement was hasty: the format and spacing of the text betray the intervention. The letters of the lines preceding Geta's name and those following it are visibly more widely spaced than normal — a gap in the stone that tells of a murder.
This intervention is today one of the clearest and most accessible examples of damnatio memoriae in the entire Roman repertoire.
The Arch in the Middle Ages and Its Survival
Incorporation into Medieval Structures
The Arch of Septimius Severus survived the fall of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages through a mechanism common to the great monuments of the Forum: it was incorporated into residential and religious structures. A small church — Santi Sergio e Bacco al Foro Romano — was built against the arch, probably in the 7th or 8th century, using the northern bay as its entrance. The medieval ground level was approximately 3 metres higher than the original, partially burying the arch.
The presence of the church protected the structure from systematic quarrying for building materials. When the church was demolished in the course of 19th- and 20th-century excavations, the arch re-emerged virtually intact.
Excavation and Restoration
The major excavations of the Forum Romanum conducted between 1803 and 1827 by Carlo Fea, subsequently renewed under the Napoleonic and Risorgimento regimes, progressively freed the arch from the medieval soil and adjoining structures. The traces of medieval workings — holes, incisions, walled-up sections — are still visible on the monument.
The Arch of Septimius Severus Today
What to See
The monument is one of the most imposing in the Roman Forum. From the Forum's main path one has a frontal view of the arch (north side, facing the Forum). The south side, with the relief panels of the bays, is accessible by approaching the arch.
The reliefs: the four large narrative panels are still legible despite erosion. Binoculars or photographic enlargement allow appreciation of the details.
The inscription: the erasure of Geta's name is visible to the naked eye in the attic. Observing lines III and IV carefully, one can notice the difference in the letter spacing.
The podium: the original travertine podium is partially visible — the modern Forum floor lies approximately 2.5 metres above the Augustan level, but the base is still appreciable.
Access
The arch is visible free of charge from outside the Roman Forum perimeter (from the Via Sacra side). Close access requires the combined Colosseum–Forum–Palatine ticket.
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The Arch of Septimius Severus stands at the north-western end of the Roman Forum, near the Curia Iulia and the Rostra.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Arch of Septimius Severus built? The arch was erected by the Senate and People of Rome in 203 AD to commemorate Emperor Septimius Severus's Parthian victories. It was dedicated on the occasion of the decennalia — the tenth anniversary of his reign.
Why is there a gap in the arch's inscription? The original name of Geta, Septimius Severus's younger son, was chiselled away after his brother Caracalla had him murdered in 211 AD. The damnatio memoriae required the erasure of Geta's name from all public monuments. The visible gap in the letter spacing betrays the intervention.
What do the arch's reliefs depict? The four large relief panels narrate the two Parthian campaigns of Septimius Severus (195 AD and 197–198 AD), from the march of the army to the capture of Ctesiphon, in a narrative sequence divided into horizontal registers.
How did the arch survive the Middle Ages? The arch was incorporated into medieval structures — a small church (Santi Sergio e Bacco) was built against the northern bay. This religious function protected it from systematic demolition. Nineteenth-century excavations freed it from the additional structures.
How tall is the Arch of Septimius Severus? The arch is 23 metres high, 25 metres wide, and 11 metres deep. It stands on a travertine podium that further increased its visibility above the ancient Forum floor.
Article no. 55 — TIER S — MON-03 Roman Forum + Palatine Type: HISTORY Words: ~2,400