{"id":6046,"date":"2020-01-29T19:48:39","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T02:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/?p=6046"},"modified":"2022-12-15T20:54:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T03:54:17","slug":"tropaeum-alpium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/29\/tropaeum-alpium\/","title":{"rendered":"Tropaeum Alpium, Alpes Maritimae"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tropaeum<\/a>
Tropaeum Alpium and \u00c9glise Saint-Michel de La Turbie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
History<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Standing in the alpine foothills above the Principality of Monaco, in the small French town of La Turbie, is one of the few remaining trophies from the Roman world; the Tropaeum Alpium. Known locally as le Troph\u00e9e des Alpes, the Tropaeum Alpium (also called the Tropaeum Augusti) was constructed on order of Augustus in his 17th<\/sup> year as tribune, placing the beginning of its construction in either late 7 BCE or early 6 BCE. It likely took at least a few years to complete, but the final date of construction is not recorded. Augustus commissioned the Tropaeum Alpium to commemorate his victory in campaigns between 25 BCE and 14 BCE against 45 local Alpine tribes. Though the inscription that records those tribes was incredibly fragmentary, the names and dedication are preserved by Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia<\/em>, and allowed the inscription to be reconstructed from ancient and modern pieces.<\/p>\n

\"Inscription<\/a>
Inscription and reliefs on the west side of the Tropaeum Alpium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trophy was placed at the highest point on the Via Julia Augusta (constructed a few prior, starting in 13 BCE) as it ran from Placentia (Piacenza) to Arelate (Arles). The monument sits on a 500 meter high ridge of Mont Agel, a 1,148 meter summit nearby. It was also essentially a boundary point between Italia and Gallia. The place of the Tropaeum Alpium is designated on the Itinerarium Antonini Augusti<\/em> as Alpis Summa, a mansio<\/em> located between Albintimilium (Ventimiglia) and Cemelenum<\/a> (Nice).<\/p>\n

The campaigns that are celebrated on the trophy began in 25 BCE when Augustus dispatched an army to the modern Val d\u2019Aosta area to fight the Salassi tribe, one of many that were using the limited number of usable Alpine passes to extract tolls on commercial and military traffic passing through them, as the Romans only had control over a route passing along the Mediterranean. That operation was successful and a number of smaller consolidations followed. The most widespread and ambitious of the campaigns associated with the subjugation of the Alpine tribes came in 15 BCE, when Augustus employed both Drusus and Tiberius in a wide-ranging push throughout the Alpine region, most notably against the Vindelici in the area between the Rhine Valley and Lake Constance.<\/p>\n

\"West<\/a>
West and south sides of the Tropaeum Alpium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the fall of Roman power in the area, the Tropaeum Alpium suffered somewhat. It was interpreted by Christians as a pagan temple to Apollo, and as such was the focus of destructive activities. The main form survived and in the 13th<\/sup> century the trophy was re-purposed as a fortification. During the War of Spanish Succession in the early 18th<\/sup> century, it was ordered destroyed along with other fortifications in the area; while the core of the structure largely survived, it did incur significant damage. At this point, the Tropaeum Alpium became a quarry for building. Many of the houses in the area, and the adjacent \u00c9glise Saint-Michel de La Turbie were built using blocks that originate from the trophy. The mid-19th<\/sup> century brought some efforts to restore, or at least prevent the further deterioration of the monument, but it wasn\u2019t until the early 20th<\/sup> century that serious efforts were made to restore it. This occurred due to the interest and monetary investment of an American patron (Dr. Edward Tuck) and the work of a French archaeologist (Philippe Casimir). The restoration and rebuilding of the Tropeaum Alpium was finished in 1934.<\/p>\n