Roman forum

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The forum is located in the valley between the Palatine and Velia hill on the south side, the Capitol hill in the west, Esquiline and the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal. It used to be a deserted marshland with numerous springs and Velabr creek. Until the middle of the VIII century BC. e. this place was used for burial, while the settlements were located on nearby hills.

The place was drained during the reign of King Tarquinius of Ancient thanks to large-scale works on the construction of gutters and the laying of Big Cloak connected to the drainage system. After the region was drained, the construction of the Forum began, one part of which was intended for shops, the other for public ceremonies, religious holidays, elections in the office and magistrates, for oratorical tribunes and the sentencing of convicts.

The oldest objects include: the altar of the volcano , black stone ( lat. Lapis Niger ), the foundation of the sanctuary of Venus-Cloakina , the foundation of the Region .

Republican Period

The forum in the republican period became the center of the political, religious and economic life of Rome. After the Punic Wars, in connection with the redevelopment of the city, the Forum acquired a new look. The temple of Castor and Pollux was rebuilt and new roads were laid to provide communication between the Forum and other areas of the city.

The houses of aristocrats were located on the northern slopes of Palatine and Velia, as well as the house of the great pontiff in the southern part of the Sacred Road, the house of Cicero; in the southern part of the Forum was the house of Scipio, which in the middle of the II century BC. e. gave way to basilicas. Three large basilicas were erected around the central square: in the 2nd century BC. e. here the basilicas of Portia , Sempronius and Emilia were erected; in the premises of the former taverns and butchers' shops, money changers ( lat. argentarii ) began to be located; the treasury of Rome began to be located in the temple of Saturn, and coins were minted in the temple of Juno. Mass meetings and trials took place in the basilicas. However, in the republican period they took place most often not in the building, but in open areas, for example, comitia. The processes also took place in other consecrated and symbolic places near small ancient sanctuaries.

In the II century BC e. more and more statues and monuments were erected at the Forum, praising representatives of the political elite of Rome. This tradition has reached such proportions that according to the decision of the censors in 158 BC. e. all such monuments in the Forum and its environs were removed if their construction was not approved by the Senate and the people ^[1] . Until the end of the II century BC. e. The forum remained the place where the achievements of the citizens of Rome were revered, however, already in I BC. e. became a platform for the struggle of individual politicians. So the dictator Sulla built a new curia on the site of Gostilius curia and named it by his name - Cornelia curia ; Guy Julius Caesar erected at this place the temple of Felicitas and on the comitia the new curia Julius .

Imperial period

During the reign of Augustus, as a result of the gradual development at different times, the forum reached such enormous proportions that it turned into a center of business, religious and social life of the city. Under Augustus, many monuments were erected in honor of the victory over Anthony and Pompey ( arch of Augustus , Columna Rostrata), as well as in honor of the deified adopted father of Augustus - Julius Caesar (Caesar's temple, deified Julius Rostra). The "Golden Milestone" and the "navel of the city" began to indicate the center of the city and the Roman world.

Then there was a long period of decline in Forum activity, and a new heyday occurred during the reign of Maxentius and Constantine, who gave instructions to build the Basilica of Romulus and the Basilica of Constantine. The forum was destroyed by the invasions of the barbarians, especially the Goths (in 410 CE) and the Vandals (in 455 CE).

Litigation during the era of the empire was completely transferred to the basilica. Courts were attended by students and rhetoricians. Visitors sat on the benches and steps during the process. The Forum considered criminal cases, including in the presence of emperors ^[2] , and also executed sentences. Since the republican period, the Forum carried out executions . Cicero demanded that the executions be transferred to the Field of Mars, so as not to stain the sanctuaries with the blood of criminals ^[3] . Executions were carried out, however, even before the end of the 1st century. The criminals were executed without strangers at the Mamertinsky prison, then the body was put up for display on the Gemonieva terrace .

Middle Ages - Present

With the advent of Christianity, the first Christians began to build their churches on the site of the Forum, including the church of St. Bacchus and St. Sergius on the Sacred Road, the church of St. Adrian in the building of the curia and the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano at the site of the Temple of Peace, in the Basilica of Julia - Church of Santa Maria in Cannapara, in the temple of Saturn - San Salvatore de Statera, in the temple of Antonin and Faustina - Santa Maria in Miranda.

Around the VIII century, the Forum completely lost its significance and the buildings began to be used for other purposes. So in the northwestern part of the Julia Basilica workshops with kilns were built. Stables and houses were built from the material of ancient buildings. Over time, the Forum was completely abandoned. Part of the collapsed buildings was used by residents to build houses, but most of the ruins were destroyed. In the Middle Ages, cattle grazed at this place, from which the name Campo Vaccino came from .

In the XII century, in the eastern part of the Forum, fortifications of the Franipani family arose, part of which was also the arch of Titus. Only in the Renaissance did interest in the buildings on the Forum again arise, at which time the first works on the topography of ancient Rome were published. At the same time, however, there was a further looting of ancient ruins, the material was also used for the construction of new churches.

In XIX and XX, large-scale excavations began at the Forum: French archaeologists in 1803 - the arches of Septimius Severus , until 1836 - the temples of Saturn, Vespasian, Dioskurov and Concordia. Since 1870, excavations began to be carried out systematically mainly in the layers of late antiquity - IV and V centuries. In 1898, Bonnie began excavating the comitium, the basilica of Emilia, the ancient cemetery, the temple of Vesta and the source of Yuturna. During the fascist regime, interest was limited primarily to the monuments of the tsarist period. Often, excavations were carried out only superficially, in violation of several layers, small objects were thrown away, which led to a significant loss of information about the monuments.

Temples

• The Temple of Saturn is one of the oldest temples in Rome.
• Dioscuro Temple
• Temple of Vesta
• Temple of Venus and Roma
• Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
• Caesar's Temple
• Vespasian Temple
• Temple of Concordia
• Sanctuary of Venus-Cloakins

Arches

• The Arch of Titus is located in the eastern part of the Forum south of the Temple of Venus and Roma .

The epigraph made on the arch by the Coliseum reports that it was dedicated to Titus, possibly after his death in 81 AD e., his brother and successor Domitian in memory of the victory over the Jews in 70. A single-span arch (15.40 m high, 13.50 m wide and 4.75 m deep) is faced with white marble from Attica (travertine pylons date back to the restoration of Valadier, 1822); four half-columns with composite capitals frame the entrance to it from two sides.

• Septimius Severus Arch
• Tiberius Arch

Basilica

• The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine - the largest building of the Roman Forum
• Basilica Julia
• Basilica of Emilia

Other facilities

• Umbilicus urbis - "the navel of the city"
• Regia
• Rostrum
• Curia Julia
• Tabularium
• Milliarium Aureum - the “Golden Milestone”
• Lapis niger
• Vestal House
• Via Sacra is the main road of the Roman Forum.
• Column of Foki - a column of the Corinthian capital, dedicated to the Byzantine emperor Fok.
• Mamertinsky prison
• Volcano - the altar of the Volcano, one of the oldest sanctuaries of Rome.
• Kurtsia Lake is a legendary place on the Forum.
• The source of Yuturna is the source and altar of the nymph Yuturna.
• Agrippa Warehouses - Food Warehouse Building

Unsaved buildings

• Janus Temple - a temple whose doors were closed during peace and remained open during the war.
• Temple of Jupiter Stator - a temple built by Romulus.
• Comitium - in the republican period - a place for public gatherings.
• arch of august
• The Portia Basilica is the first basilica in Rome.
• Basilica of Sempronia - the republican basilica - the predecessor of the basilica Julia.
• Equestrian statue of Domitian - a bronze statue of the emperor in the center of the Forum.
• Spice warehouses - warehouses for spices, on the site of which the Maxentius Basilica was later built.

• Bull Forum
• Agora

• Cic. Rab. perd. = Cicero. Pro Rabirio Perduellionis (neopr.) . doi : 10.4159 / DLCL.marcus_tullius_cicero-pro_rabirio_perduellionis . 1927 . Date accessed May 26, 2015. (via Loeb Classical Library
• Klaus S. Freyberger. Das Forum Romanum. - Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2012.
• Platner, Samuel Ball; Ashby, Thomas. Forum_Romanum (English) . A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome . Bill Thayer's Web Site.

• Roman Forum // Encyclopedia "Around the World"