The capital of a huge empire!

The bright flame of torches colored the dark sky above the Roman Forum on one of the nights of 45 BC. The large crowd of those gathered froze for a moment. On the chariot, accompanied by a chain of 40 elephants, the famous Julius Caesar rode to the temple of Jupiter, on the Capitoline Hill. On his account there was a victory in Egypt, Asia Minor and Sulfur Africa, he defeated the Gauls and defeated his political opponent Pompey. And no one saw a bad sign in the fact that the axis of the chariot suddenly broke, and the commander could hardly stand on his feet.

Caesar knelt before the temple, praying to Fortune for the patronage of the Roman Republic, although all subsequent rulers of Rome were already called nothing more than emperors.

Triumphal processions lasted for five days at the Forum, carts loaded with won trophies rolled through it, scenes of campaigns and legendary victories were played out. Above the square were the words of Caesar himself «Veni, Vidi, Vici» — «I came, I saw, I conquered.»

Capital of a vast empire

Long before Julius Caesar, the Forum was the center of social events. The exact time of the emergence of the Forum Romanum — the market square — is unknown, many correlate the period of its appearance with the time of the founding of Rome itself, i.e. 753 BC according to the Christian calendar. And until 168 BC, when Rome became the capital of a huge empire, and for a long time after that, the Forum was the center of the celebration of military victories and conquests.

The very symbolic location of the Form contributed to the holding of all solemn rituals here. It is located in a valley between three great hills: the Capitol, the Palatine and the Esquiline, half a kilometer from the left bank of the Tiber. The resulting area was 91.4 meters long and 61 meters wide.

8 roads led here and there were important public buildings, a court, commercial and religious premises. All buildings of the Forum were supposed to emphasize the power and glory of the Roman Empire. And, despite the abundance of colonnades of traditional orders, dating back to the art of the Greeks, here Roman architecture acquired its characteristic features. The Romans erected their buildings on high platforms, like on a pedestal, with the obligatory portico in the Etruscan style. But Roman temples were not only of religious significance, they often became platforms for orators who proclaimed their speeches, towering over the crowd.