DOI issue:
Artykuły/Articles
DOI article:Okoński, Mateusz: Images of Central European "externae gentes" in Trajan's Monetary Iconography and Their Role in the Propaganda of the Imperial Era
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.57341#0114
MATEUSZ OKOŃSKI
112
Dacian statues, which were later scattered and adapted to other buildings, e.g. to this
day, they decorate the upper part of the Arch of Constantine in Rome. Interestingly,
some of these figures have their hands arranged in a way which suggests they
have been bound at the front, which also has some reference to the images placed
on coins.101 To get to know the images of Central European barbarians, however,
the most valuable and perhaps even invaluable source remains Trajan’s column, and
the scarcity of written sources regarding the conflict in Dacia further strengthens its
value as a chronicle. Some researchers even claim that the column relief is a plastic
representation of the literary (and unfortunately unpreserved) work of Trajan, bearing
the title Dacica, of which only one phrase has survived.102 However, apart from
its role as a chronicle, the column also had a strictly propaganda significance - it
was a monument to imperial virtues and bravery. This is evidenced by the fact that
the emperor was depicted on the column relief 59 times, always as an excellent leader,
sharing the effort of fighting with his soldiers and watching over every element of
the campaign. The researchers identified 155 scenes on a column, in which nearly
2,500 characters took part, of which over 600 are Roman enemies of Rome.103
Such a huge amount of iconographic material allows to one to form an outline of
the overall image of Dacians and compare it with that presented by the monetary
issues already discussed.
As in the case of the coins, we can divide the images of Dacians on the Trajan’s
column into several groups: men-warriors, women and children. Of course, most
are images from the first group. The figure of an alien appears on the monument for
the first time in scene XVIII, when a representative of a hostile nation is brought
before the emperor and his advisers. The person of the Dacian prisoner of war is
portrayed in a typical barbarian outfit: he wears pants, a tunic with long sleeves,
and a knee-length coat (sagum). However, there is a lack of pileum, a headgear that
appeared in the monetary images. This may prove the fact that the characteristic hat
was an attribute of a higher social class to which the Dacian presented in the scene
did not belong (thus he was probably a scout or envoy).104 Other typical images
of barbarians in Roman art were also shown in the physiognomic features: longer
hair and a thick beard. This set of appearance and dress features is typical for
the representations of Dacian warriors on Trajan’s column - they also appear
in scenes (for example): XXIV, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, LXXI, LXXV. The last
101 OSTROWSKI 1985: 78. On the particular sculptures see ibidem'. 136, nos. 21-29.
102 WHEELER 2010: 1191.
103 CLARKE 2003: 32; FEHR 1985-86: 39-60. The numbering of individual scenes was based on the work:
C1CHORIUS 1896-1900. The number of representations of Dacians has been determined by COULSTON 1988: 302.
104 As Coulston (1988: 302) calculated, only 121 of all the Dacians shown on the column are wearing a hat
and are representatives of the tarabostes class, later also calledpileati (meaning “wearing caps”).
112
Dacian statues, which were later scattered and adapted to other buildings, e.g. to this
day, they decorate the upper part of the Arch of Constantine in Rome. Interestingly,
some of these figures have their hands arranged in a way which suggests they
have been bound at the front, which also has some reference to the images placed
on coins.101 To get to know the images of Central European barbarians, however,
the most valuable and perhaps even invaluable source remains Trajan’s column, and
the scarcity of written sources regarding the conflict in Dacia further strengthens its
value as a chronicle. Some researchers even claim that the column relief is a plastic
representation of the literary (and unfortunately unpreserved) work of Trajan, bearing
the title Dacica, of which only one phrase has survived.102 However, apart from
its role as a chronicle, the column also had a strictly propaganda significance - it
was a monument to imperial virtues and bravery. This is evidenced by the fact that
the emperor was depicted on the column relief 59 times, always as an excellent leader,
sharing the effort of fighting with his soldiers and watching over every element of
the campaign. The researchers identified 155 scenes on a column, in which nearly
2,500 characters took part, of which over 600 are Roman enemies of Rome.103
Such a huge amount of iconographic material allows to one to form an outline of
the overall image of Dacians and compare it with that presented by the monetary
issues already discussed.
As in the case of the coins, we can divide the images of Dacians on the Trajan’s
column into several groups: men-warriors, women and children. Of course, most
are images from the first group. The figure of an alien appears on the monument for
the first time in scene XVIII, when a representative of a hostile nation is brought
before the emperor and his advisers. The person of the Dacian prisoner of war is
portrayed in a typical barbarian outfit: he wears pants, a tunic with long sleeves,
and a knee-length coat (sagum). However, there is a lack of pileum, a headgear that
appeared in the monetary images. This may prove the fact that the characteristic hat
was an attribute of a higher social class to which the Dacian presented in the scene
did not belong (thus he was probably a scout or envoy).104 Other typical images
of barbarians in Roman art were also shown in the physiognomic features: longer
hair and a thick beard. This set of appearance and dress features is typical for
the representations of Dacian warriors on Trajan’s column - they also appear
in scenes (for example): XXIV, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, LXXI, LXXV. The last
101 OSTROWSKI 1985: 78. On the particular sculptures see ibidem'. 136, nos. 21-29.
102 WHEELER 2010: 1191.
103 CLARKE 2003: 32; FEHR 1985-86: 39-60. The numbering of individual scenes was based on the work:
C1CHORIUS 1896-1900. The number of representations of Dacians has been determined by COULSTON 1988: 302.
104 As Coulston (1988: 302) calculated, only 121 of all the Dacians shown on the column are wearing a hat
and are representatives of the tarabostes class, later also calledpileati (meaning “wearing caps”).