Arch of Titus

Titus has been a great ruler of Rome.  After his death, his brother Domitian, who now the ruler had the Arch built for Titus.

Building work started in 82 AD and finished in 85 AD when there was a big party to the end of the work.

Who was Titus

Titus was the old Roman ruler.  He was the first person to become the ruler after the death of his father.

Before Titus, there had always been battles to become the ruler, or the Senate decided it – the people who made the laws for Rome and Italy at the time.

When Titus became the ruler, he had lots of fights with people who he felt were enemies of Rome.  Titus won a lot of these fights, and to the Roman, he was a hero.

After Titus died, his brother became the ruler of Rome.  Domitian wanted to remember his brother, and so he had the Arch of Titus built.

Where is the Arch?

The Arch is in Rome and can still be seen today.  It was built on what was once the main street into the city.

For many years after it was made, Roman soldiers would walk through the Arch on their way back from winning battles.

What is it made from?

When the Arch of Titus was first built, it was made from marble.  It is also thought that the letters on the arch were made from gold or were painted with gold.

The gold letters have now faded.

Around 1821, the Titus Arch needed to be fixed.  This meant that some of the marble walls were replaced with another stone called Limestone.

Limestone is good because it is as strong as marble and can last for a long time.  But, limestone is much cheaper than marble.

Art on the Arch

The Titus Arch has lots of stone carvings or art dug into the walls.  One of the pictures is of Titus in his battle with Jerusalem.

Titus won this fight, and it was thought to be a great victory for the Romans.  The other picture was of Titus when he was crowned as the ruler of Rome.  In this picture, he is seen riding a chariot, which was a cart with two wheels that was pulled along by a horse.

Fun Facts

• The Arch was built after Titus had died
• The Arch of Titus may have been the reason for other arches to be made, such as the Arc de Triumph in Paris
• The Arch of Titus is the second arch in Rome that was built for Titus, but this one is the most beautiful
• The Arch is nearly about 1,934 years old!  It has been fixed once
• The road that it is built on is still used today as a party route for special events
• It has Roman writing on it.  The writing says that the Arch is a gift from the people of Rome and the lawmakers, known as the Senate to Titus.
• The pictures on the columns of the arch act like a newspaper because they tell a story of what Titus was like
• The arch also has an image of the goddess of victory on it.  She is seen walking behind Titus because she is happy that he has won his battle

Questions

• Who was Titus?
  A Roman Ruler
• The Arch of Titus was built when Titus was still alive.  True or False
  False
• Titus’ brother was called Domitian.  True or false
  True
• Can people still see the Arch of Titus, today?
  Yes
• Some of the old marble walls have now been fixed with Limestone.  True or False
  True

• Back to – Ancient Rome