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  Temple of Trajan Shown in ancient Rome | |
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| Coordinates | 41°53′44″N12°29′09″E / 41.8956°N 12.4858°E /41.8956; 12.4858 |
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TheTemple of Trajan was aRoman temple dedicated to the emperorTrajan and his wifePlotina after hisdeification by theRoman Senate. It was built in theForum of Trajan (Rome), by Trajan's adoptive son and successorHadrian, between 125 A.D. and 138 A.D. The architect wasApollodorus of Damascus.
Its exact site within the Forum is unknown. It had been assumed it was on the site ofPalazzo Valentini and that this palazzo hadreused stone from the temple in its construction, but excavation has found no trace of a temple, only remains ofinsulae with shallower foundations than those needed for a temple. This possibly puts the temple at the centre of the forum courtyard, looking towards theforum of Augustus or elsewhere (some have suggested the two rooms in the Library, without evidence) and not in a northern position as was previously assumed.
The temple's dedicatory inscription survives in theVatican Museums. An enormous monolithicgranite column (2m in diameter) with a white marble capital (2.12m high on its own) survives nearTrajan's Column and perhaps comes from the temple. Among Hadrian's many buildings, it was only this one to which he wished to affix his name. The temple was probably enormous in dimensions and surrounded by aportico like thetemple of Hadrian. However, Trajan was not buried in the temple but in the triumphal column's base.
The temple was destroyed in the Middle Ages.