Arch of Augustus, Rome

The Arch of Augustus was the triumphal arch of Augustus in the Roman Forum. Dedicated in 29 BC, it commemorates the great battle of Actium (31 BC) against Anthony and Cleopatra. The arch spanned the road between the Temple of Castor and Pollux and the Temple of Caesar, near the Temple of Vesta.

A large inscription was found in the same location in 1546AD, with a dedication to Augustus, so the identification of the arch is certain.

Very little remains of the arch itself, but its appearance is known from coins of the period. It had three passageways, the first such arch in Rome, and served as a model for the Arch of Septimius Severus, which was the model for the later Arch of Constantine.

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