Located in Trajan’s Forum in Rome, near the Quirinal Hill, Trajan’s Column was erected during 106-113 AD, to commemorate Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars between 101 and 106 AD, when he crossed the Danube River and defeated a mighty barbarian empire on its mountainous home turf twice, then systematically wiped it from the face of Europe.

The loot he brought back yielded a half million pounds of gold and a million pounds of silver that changed the landscape of Rome. Probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate, Trajan’s Column was the first of many such monuments and its design has inspired numerous victory columns around the world, which include, among others, Vendome Column in Paris and the Washington Monument in Baltimore. Since its erection the column has seen two World Wars, a revolution and the fall of the greatest empire ever to rule the ancient world.

Famous for its spiral bas relief, the 125 feet (38 m) tall Trajan’s Column stands on an 8-block base and is topped by a two-block pedestal. The capital block of Trajan's Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of 112 feet.

The shaft consists of a series of 20 colossal drums of Carrara marble, with a diameter of 12`1 feet (3`17 m) and each weighing about 32 tons. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 steps leads to a viewing platform at the top. The staircase, entirely carved out of the solid stone, is lit by 40 small windows set within the column at regular intervals. Originally, the viewing platform was equipped with a metal rail and could accommodate up to 15 people who would have admired the magnificent buildings of Rome spread out below in all directions.

Trajan’s Column was originally erected in the middle of a courtyard surrounded by galleries, so that the spiral band, decorated with the low-relief sculptures depicting the emperor’s two consecutive campaigns in Dacia can be viewed from various levels. Starting from the base, the major events of the campaigns are represented in more or less chronological order and each campaign is separated by scenes with a shield and victory trophies. While the lower half illustrates the first (101–102), the top half illustrates the second (105–106) Dacian War.

Spiralling around the column the presence of over 2,600 figures carved in low relief present a lively 200 m long narrative of 155 key scenes from the campaigns with the conspicuous presence of Trajan engaged in diverse situations like leading the army, judging prisoners and holding councils of war. Although mortal females are rare in Roman state art, Trajan’s Column contains a scene of one of the most unusual and violent depictions of women in Roman art, in which five Dacian women are depicted torturing three naked men. The 200 m long reliefs were originally painted in colour, the traces of which survived up to the 18th century AD.

It seems from the ancient coins that originally the column had a bronze eagle on its top. But subsequently, the eagle was replaced by a 16 feet (4`8 m) tall bronze statue of Emperor Trajan. However, the statue of the deceased emperor mysteriously disappeared in the Middle Ages and on 4 December 1587, the column was crowned by Pope Sixtus with a bronze figure of St Peter.

After the death of Trajan in 117 AD, the Roman Senate decided to have the ashes of Trajan buried in the Column's square base, decorated with the captured arms and armour of the Dacians. His ashes and those of his wife, Plotina, were set inside the base in golden urns, which later strangely disappeared from the monument.