Victory column

A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a heroic commemoration, including victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a statue. The statue may represent the goddess Victoria; in Germany, the female embodiment of the nation, Germania; in the United States either the female embodiment of the nation Columbia or Liberty; in the United Kingdom, the female embodiment Britannia, an eagle, or a naval war hero depicted as a helmeted woman, wielding a trident, shield and olive branch.

Monumental columns

List of Roman victory columns

Of the columns listed above, the following are the Roman columns. Roman triumphal columns were either monolithic pillars or composed of column drums; in the later case, these were often hollowed out to accommodate an ancient spiral staircase leading up to the platform on top.
The earliest triumphal column was Trajan's Column which, dedicated in 113 AD, defined its architectural form and established its symbolic value as a political monument alongside the older Roman triumphal arches, providing a lingering model for its successors to this day. The imperial capitals of Rome and Constantinople house the most ancient triumphal columns.
All dimensions are given here in metres, though it was the Roman foot by which ancient architects determined the harmonious proportions of the columns, and which is thus crucial for understanding their design. The list is sorted by date of erection.

Image	Date	Monument	City	Location	Height above ground	Comment
	AD 113	Trajan's Column	Rome	Trajan's Forum	35.07 m	Archetype of victory column
	AD 161	Column of Antoninus Pius	Rome	Campus Martius
	Before AD 193	Column of Marcus Aurelius	Rome	Piazza Colonna	39.72 m	Directly modelled on Trajan's Column
	Between AD 268 and 337	Column of the Goths	Istanbul	Gülhane Park
	AD 297	Pompey's Pillar	Alexandria		26.85 m
	AD 330	Column of Constantine	Istanbul	Forum of Theodosius
		Column of Theodosius	Istanbul	Forum of Theodosius
	AD 421	Column of Arcadius	Istanbul	Forum of Arcadius
	AD 455	Column of Marcian	Istanbul
	AD 543	Column of Justinian	Istanbul	Square of the Augustaeum		Destroyed by earthquake in the 16th century
	AD 608	Column of Phocas	Rome	Roman Forum		Last addition to the Forum Romanum