Arch of Septimius Severus

Arco di Sttimio Severo is a triumphal arch built in 203 AD. was dedicated to celebrate the victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, over the Parthians. The arch stands in the northwest corner of the Roman Forum and is decorated with reliefs depicting the emperor's military campaigns in Mesopotamia. The arch has an inscription praising the merits of the emperor and his sons, although Geta's name was later removed after he was murdered by Caracalla. The arch is one of the best preserved examples of Roman architecture and a popular tourist attraction in Rome.

"The Arch of Septimius Severus was erected in 203 AD in honor of the Emperor and his sons Geta and Caracalla (the former was later murdered by the latter) to commemorate the success of the Emperor in the East against the Parthians. It is completely clad in marble and with a width of 23.27 meters, a height of 20.88 meters and a depth of 11.20 meters one of the largest such structures of antiquity. To the two lateral passages one reached over steps, through the middle led the Via Sacra, which began here its rise to the capitol (Clivus Capitolinus). On both sides of the upper floor there is an inscription:
"To the Emperor Caesar Septimius Severus, the son of Marcus, Pius, Pertinax, Augustus, Father of the Fatherland, the conqueror of the Parthians, the Arab and the Parthian Adiabene, the pontiff Maximus, who for the eleventh time held the power of a tribune, appointed as Emperor for the eleventh time, consul and proconsul for the third time, and Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelianus Antoninus, son of Lucius, Augustus, Pius, Felix, who for the sixth time has the power of a tribune, consul, proconsul, father of The best and strongest principes, for the salvation of the state and the extension of the dominion of the Roman people and for their extraordinary achievements at home and abroad: the Senate and the people of Rome. "
At the point where the "best and strongest principes", ie "optimis fortissimisque principibus" is mentioned, a reworking was made. Originally there was the name of the P. Septimius Geta to read, that is a dedication to Geta, the son of Septimius Severus, whom his brother Caracalla murder after the father's death and had its name erased from all state monuments.
On the smaller arches, reliefs depict scenes from the campaigns of the Emperor against the Parthians (195 and 197/98 AD). The relatively good condition of the monument we owe to the fact that it was included in fortifications during the Middle Ages, similar to the other great triumphal arch of the forum, the Titus arch. Only today, the reliefs are threatened by the strong air pollution, so parts of the arch were conserved for Sacred Year 2000 by specialists. "Source: roma-antiqua.de/antikes_rom/forum_romanum/septimius_severus_bogen

Pretty impressive when you descend from the Capitol to the Forum.