February

In the Roman Period, Ankara held the position of an important urban center within the Roman Empire as the capital of the province of Galatia. This importance was not limited only to an administrative status. Through architectural structures, inscriptions, and urban arrangements, Ankara became a part of the memory and representation network of the imperial world. The Temple of Augustus and Rome is one of the structures that makes this historical layer visible in the most powerful way. Following the incorporation of Galatia into the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Augustus, the temple built in the new provincial center Ankyra and dedicated to Augustus and Rome records the direct relationship the city established with Rome through space.

The architecture of the temple reflects Rome’s orderly, measured, and highly representative understanding of construction. This monumental structure, seated on a high podium in the Corinthian order, makes the idea of power visible through the permanence of stone.

However, the element that makes the Temple of Augustus unique for Ankara is not only its architecture but also the inscription carved on its walls, known as “Res Gestae Divi Augusti.” This text, in which Emperor Augustus narrated his deeds after his death, was written on the temple walls in two languages; the text written in Latin was carved on the anta walls in the front section, and the text written in Ancient Greek was carved on the exterior surface of the sacred space. Since the original text in Rome has been lost, this inscription in Ankara bears the distinction of being the only complete copy preserved in the world, and in this respect, it is considered one of the most valuable documents of Roman history.

At this point, the texture we encounter on the surface of the temple is named “The Language of Stone.” The texture selected here is not the writing itself, but an ornamentation located on the stone surface of the temple. However, this ornamentation establishes a direct relationship with the inscription carved on the walls that makes the Temple of Augustus unique. In the Roman world, stone is used not only as a building material but as a ground of memory that gains meaning through writing and ornamentation. Therefore, “The Language of Stone” invites us to think together about both the aesthetic presence of the ornamentation on the stone surface and the historical narrative represented by the inscription located on the same surface; it is read as a texture that refers to the inscription and gains meaning with it.

Temple of Augustus
Roman Bath
Column of Julian

Ankara’s importance in the Roman period is not limited only to the Temple of Augustus. The city is located in a strategic position on Roman roads. These roads make Ankara an important center connecting different regions of Anatolia. While the Roman Bath shows that the city’s public life and daily practices were organized in harmony with the imperial order, the Column of Julian reveals that Ankara was one of the cities possessing monumental representation in the Roman world. When these structures are read together, it is clearly seen that Ankara was not an ordinary settlement in the Roman period but a planned, functional urban center with high representative power.

The “Language of Stone” texture taken from the Temple of Augustus makes the union between the local heritage of the Galatians and the imperial language of Rome tangibly visible. The stone surface of the temple is a powerful memory space that carries Ankara’s place in the Roman world to the present day through both architecture and writing. Therefore, this texture is a threshold point that not only reminds us of Ankara’s ancient heritage but also makes it readable and meaningful. This surface, which makes visible the historical weight and multi-layered past of Ankara, which was an important urban center in the Roman Period, has been selected as one of the strongest examples carrying the city’s ancient memory to the present day.

Ankara Chamber of Commerce

Söğütözü District 2180. Street No: 5/A 06530
Çankaya/ANKARA
iletisim@atonet.org.tr

Ankara Chamber of Commerce

Söğütözü District 2180. Street No: 5/A 06530 Çankaya/ANKARA iletisim@atonet.org.tr

Söğütözü District 2180. Street No: 5/A 06530
Çankaya/ANKARA
iletisim@atonet.org.tr