View source for Lateran Obelisk

{{Short description|Ancient Egyptian obelisk, now a landmark of Rome, Italy}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox monument
| monument_name = Lateran Obelisk
| native_name   = Obelisco Lateranense
| image         = File:Lateran Obelisk HD.jpg
| caption       = Obelisk today across from the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]]
| location      = Erected in 1588 at [[Archbasilica of St. John Lateran|Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano]] in [[Rome]], Italy
| complete      = 15th century B.C.
| designer      = [[Thutmose III]] and completed by his grandson [[Thutmose IV]] in [[Karnak]]
| type          = [[Obelisk]]
| material      = {{convert|32.18|m}} of red [[granite]] [[monolith]]
| height        = {{convert|45.7|m}}
| coordinates   = {{coord|41|53|12.6|N|12|30|17.2|E|dim:100_region:IT-RM_type:landmark|display=inline|name=Lateranense}}
|image_size=80
|mapframe-frame-width=270
|mapframe=yes
|mapframe-caption=Click on the map for a fullscreen view
|mapframe-zoom=13
|mapframe-marker=monument
|mapframe-wikidata=yes
}}[[File:Lateran obelisk. Base of obelisk with citatation of Emperor Constantine.JPG|thumb|upright|The base of the obelisk was erected in 1588 and incorrectly claims that it marks the location of [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] [[Constantine the Great]]'s baptism, although he was actually baptized in Nicomedia.]]

The '''Lateran Obelisk''' ({{langx|it|Obelisco Lateranense}}; {{langx|la|Obseliscus Constantii}}) is the largest standing ancient Egyptian [[obelisk]] in the world, and it is also the tallest obelisk in [[Italy]]. It originally weighed {{convert|413|t|ST}}, but after collapsing and being re-erected {{convert|4|m|ft}} shorter, now weighs around {{convert|300|t|ST}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/raising/rome.html|title=NOVA Online {{!}} Mysteries of the Nile {{!}} A World of Obelisks: Rome|website=www.pbs.org|access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref> It is located in [[Rome]], in the square across from the [[Archbasilica of St. John Lateran]] and the [[San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital]].

The obelisk was made around 1400&nbsp;BC in [[Karnak|Karnak, Egypt]], during the reigns of Pharaohs [[Thutmose III]] and [[Thutmose IV]]. Roman Emperor [[Constantine I]] had it moved to [[Alexandria]] in the early 4th century{{nbsp}}AD, then Constantius II in AD{{nbsp}}357 had it shipped to Rome and erected at the [[Circus Maximus]]. The obelisk collapsed sometime after the Circus's abandonment in the 5th century and was buried under mud. It was dug up and restored in the late 1580s, and by the order of [[Pope Sixtus V]] was topped with a [[Christian cross]] and installed in its present location near the [[Lateran Palace]].

==History==
Originally, the obelisk was created by Pharaoh [[Thutmose III]] (1479–1425 BC) for himself and another for his father, but neither were completed before his death. Thutmose III's grandson, [[Thutmose IV]] (1400–1390 BC) finished the obelisks and had them erected to the east of the great temple of [[Amun]] in [[Karnak]].{{ref|map 1|map}}

{{Blockquote|text=Now His Majesty completed the very great sole obelisk from what his ancestor the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Menkheperre (Thutmose III) brought after His Majesty found this obelisk having lain for a total of 35 years on its side in the possession of the craftsmen on the south side of Karnak.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brand |first=Peter J. |date=1997 |title=The 'Lost' Obelisks and Colossi of Seti I |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt |volume=34 |page=110|doi=10.2307/40000801 }}</ref>|author=Inscription of Thutmose IV on the Lateran obelisk}}

When it was completed, the obelisk now known as the Lateran Obelisk stood at 32&nbsp;m (105&nbsp;ft) which was the tallest one in Egypt.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Metro Books|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4351-4654-9|editor-last=Strudwick|editor-first=Helen|location=New York|pages=499}}</ref> Both it and the other obelisk, known as the [[Obelisk of Theodosius]], were brought to [[Alexandria]] over the [[Nile]] by an [[obelisk ship]] in the early 4th century by [[Constantius II]]. He intended to bring both obelisks to [[Constantinople]], the new capital for the [[Roman Empire]]; the Lateran Obelisk never made it.

===Circus Maximus===
After the obelisk remained in Alexandria for a few decades, Constantius II had the Lateran obelisk shipped to Rome when he made his only visit there in 357. It was erected near the Egyptian obelisk called the [[Flaminio Obelisk|Flaminio]], which had stood since 10 BC where it was installed by [[Augustus]] to decorate the ''[[spina (Roman circus)|spina]]'' of the [[Circus Maximus]].{{ref|map 2|map}} There they both remained, until after the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] in the 5th century the Circus Maximus was abandoned and they eventually broke or were taken down. They were eventually buried by mud and detritus carried by a small stream over time.

First person accounts have the original (Roman) base of the monument still in the Circus Maximus as late as 1589.<ref>{{Aut|>G. Zoega}}, ''De Origine et Usu Obeliscorum'', Rome 1797. pp.&nbsp;51</ref> It contained a narrative of Constantius' transport, raising, and dedication of "his father's" obelisk inscribed on its four sides as a long epigram.<ref>{{Aut|>Io. Casp. Orellius}}, ''Inscriptionum Latinarum Selectarum Amplissima Collectio'', Zurich 1828. Vol I, no. 38 {{ISBN|978-1146993036}} (facs. ed.)</ref>

===Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano===
Though pieces of the obelisk were found in the 14th and 15th centuries, serious excavation was only made possible under [[Pope Sixtus V]]. The three pieces of the Lateran obelisk were dug up in 1587, and after being restored by architect [[Domenico Fontana]], the obelisk was re-erected approximately {{convert|4|m|ft}} shorter. When it was erected near the [[Lateran Palace]] and basilica of St. John Lateran on 9 August 1588, it became the last ancient Egyptian obelisk to be erected in Rome. Its location was formerly the spot where the [[Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius|equestrian statue]] of [[Marcus Aurelius]] stood until 1538, when it was relocated to decorate the [[Piazza del Campidoglio]] on [[Capitoline Hill]].

The obelisk was topped with a cross and the pedestal was decorated with inscriptions explaining its Egyptian history and its travels to Alexandria and Rome, mentioning the baptism of Constantine the Great.

== Former locations ==
* {{note|map 1}} ''Lateran'' at [[Karnak]], Egypt: {{coord|25|43|7.46|N|32|39|26.64|E|region:EG_type:landmark|name=Lateranense_Karnak}}
* {{note|map 2}} ''Lateran'' at [[Circus Maximus]] in Rome: {{Coord|41|53|6.31|N|12|29|14.45|E|type:landmark_region:IT|name=Lateranense_Circus_Maximus}}
<!--- {{note|map 3}} ''Lateran'' on Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome: {{coord|41|53|12.70|N|12|30|17.21|E|type:landmark|name=Lateranense_Lateran_Palace}}--->

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Flaminio Obelisk}}
* {{annotated link|Arch of Constantine}}
* [[List of obelisks in Rome]]
* [[List of Egyptian obelisks]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Lawrence |url=https://archive.org/details/newtopographical0000rich |title=A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome |year=1992 |isbn=0801843006 |pages=273}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gorringe |first=Henry H. |title=Egyptian obelisks |year=1882 |pages=127–129 |doi=10.11588/diglit.33567#0239 |author-link=Henry Honychurch Gorringe}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ammianus Marcellinus |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/17*.html |title=Roman Antiquities |volume=17 |chapter=4 By order of Constantius Augustus an obelisk is set up at Rome in the Circus Maximus; also an account of obelisks and hieroglyphics. |trans-chapter= |author-link=Ammianus Marcellinus}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |first=M. |last=Lucentini |title=The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City|year= 2012 |isbn=9781623710088 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laMDAQAAQBAJ}}

== External links ==
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/menhirs.htm |url-status=unfit |title=Menhir's, Obelisks and Standing stones |last=Whitaker |first=Alex |website=www.ancient-wisdom.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202150907/https://www.ancient-wisdom.com/menhirs.htm |archive-date=2 February 2022 |access-date=2018-02-26}}
* {{Cite web |title=Virtual Roma – Obelisks part I |url=http://roma.andreapollett.com/S3/roma-co1.htm |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204160357/http://roma.andreapollett.com/S3/roma-co1.htm |archive-date=4 December 2022 |website=roma.andreapollett.com}}

{{commons-inline}}
{{Sequence
| prev = [[Porta Esquilina]]
| list = Landmarks of Rome
| curr = Lateran Obelisk
| next = [[Flaminio Obelisk]]
}}
<!--"Lateran Obelisk" as the next landmark and "Porta Esquilina" as the previous one are taken from the navbox "Landmarks of Rome" that is placed below. A navbox is invisible in mobile view. The addition enables mobile users to click at least the next landmark or the previous one. -->
{{Monuments of Rome}}

[[Category:Ancient Egyptian obelisks]]
[[Category:Obelisks in Rome]]
[[Category:Thutmose III]]
[[Category:Thutmose IV]]
[[Category:Rome R. I Monti]]
[[Category:Relocated Egyptian obelisks]]