Purpose: Under the column, there is a chamber that served as Emperor Trajan’s tomb. The column represented the emperor’s two military campaigns from beginning to the end. A bronze statue on top represented the emperor, and when the emperor died, it was to be removed. There are more than 2,000 carved figures carved on the column to depict the stories and events of Trajan’s Dacian campaigns. The campaigns were from 101 to 102 A.D. and from 105-106 A.D.  The column, including its base, is 138 feet tall. It was the exact height of the hill it was built on.  The column was not always plain white, but back in Roman times, it used to be very colorful.                                                       

Conclusion: Unique columns like Trajan’s column showed the emperor’s royalty, but the written stories on the column symbolized the Roman way of preserving their history for the future.