Tropaeum Augusti Alpium
The Tropaeum Augusti Alpium, located in La Turbie, Alpes-Maritimes, France, is a monumental structure commemorating Emperor Augustus's conquest and pacification of the Alpine tribes between 25 and 14 BC. Constructed around 7/6 BC, this impressive trophy stands on the eastern border of Gallia Narbonensis, overlooking the area leading to Monaco and the Mediterranean Sea. The structure features a large square podium that supports various reliefs depicting trophies and captives, along with an inscription that names the forty-five Alpine tribes that were subdued by Augustus's forces. This inscription is prominently displayed on a marble slab integrated into the podium. Above this base, a smaller structure with a cylindrical drum is adorned with twenty-four columns, showcasing metope reliefs. The roof of the trophy is conical and stepped, ultimately topped with either a statue of Augustus or a trophy representation. The Tropaeum serves as both a historical monument and a symbol of Roman military achievement and territorial expansion in the Alpine region.
Tropaeum Augusti Alpium
Alpine trophy of Augustus (La Turbie)
A monumental trophy on the eastern border of Gallia Narbonensis (Alpes Maritimes, southern France), dominating the slopes which descend sharply to Monoecus (Monaco) and the sea. Completed in 7/6 BC to celebrate Augustus' pacification of the Alps between 25 and 14, the trophy bore an inscription listing the names of the forty-five Alpine tribes that his armies had subjugated. This inscription was inserted in a marble slab, which was flanked by reliefs of trophies and captives and formed part of a massive square podium. Above the podium rose a second, smaller counterpart, crowned by a huge cylindrical drum providing a base for twenty-four columns. Above their architrave, which was decorated with metope reliefs, rose a conical and (apparently) stepped roof, surmounted either by a statue of Augustus or by the representation of a trophy.