The Arch of Galerius, known to the people of Thessaloniki as the Kamara (meaning arch). It was erected at the intersection of the Via Regia, the main road artery crossing the city from east to west, and the processional route which linked the palace to the Rotunda.

The 4th century Roman Emperor Galerius commissioned these two structures as elements of an imperial precinct linked to his palace, substantial remains of which were found to the southwest. These three monuments were connected by a road that ran through the arch, which also straddled the major east-west road of the city. By sitting at the crux of these major axes, the Arch of Galerius emphasized the power of the emperor and linked his assembly of monumental structures with the fabric of 4th century Thessaloniki. The arch was composed of a masonry core faced with marble sculptural panels celebrating a victory over the Sassanid Persians. Less than half of the arch is preserved. The Rotunda was a massive circular structure with a masonry core that had an oculus like the Pantheon in Rome. It has gone through multiple periods of use and modification as a polytheist temple, a Christian basilica, a Muslim mosque, and again a Christian church (and archaeological site). A minaret is preserved from its use as a mosque, and there are ancient remains exposed on its southern side.

Location and description of the Arch

The Arch of Galerius

The Arch of Galerius, stands on what is now Egnatia & Dimitrios Gounari Street. The arch was built in 298 to 299 CE and dedicated in 303 CE to celebrate the victory of the tetrarch Galerius over the Sassanid Persians and capture of their capital Ctesiphon in 298. The structure was an octopylon (eight-pillared gateway) forming a triple arch that was built of a rubble masonry core faced first with brick and then with marble panels with sculptural relief. The central arched opening was 9.7 meters wide and 12.5 meters high and the secondary openings on other side were 4.8 meters wide and 6.5 meters high. The central arch spanned the portion of the Via Egnatia (primary east-west Roman road from Dyrrhacium to Byzantium) that passed through the city as a Decumanus (east-west major street). A road connecting the Rotunda (125 meters northeast) with the Palace complex (235 meters southwest) passed through the arch along its long axis.

What we see of the triumphal arch today is not its complete original form. The fourth pier of the arch, which would have risen out of the road surface of the modern Egnatia, is missing. The piers of the arch are ornamented with sculptures depicting scenes from the wars of Galerius, sacrifices, and the four leaders of the tetrarchy. At present, only the northwestern three of the eight pillars and parts of the masonry cores of the arches above survive: i.e. the entire eastern side (4 pillars) and the southernmost one of the western pillars are lost.[3] Extensive consolidation with modern brick has been performed on the exposed masonry cores to protect the monument. The two pillars flanking the central arched passageway retain their sculpted marble slabs, which depict the wars of Galerius against the Persians in broadly panegyric terms. Sculptural program of the Arch Galerius (L) attacks Narses (R).

Understanding of the sculptural program of the arch is necessarily limited by the loss of the majority of the marble panels, but what remains gives an impression of the whole. There were four vertically stacked registers of sculpted decoration on each pillar, each separated by elaborate moldings. The presence of a label for the Tigris river indicates that there were likely lebels on other representations as the builders deemed necessary. It is clear that a certain degree of artistic license was taken in the representations, since the Caesar Galerius is shown in personal combat with the Sassanid Shah Narses in one of the panels; in fact, they never met in battle. The panel on the arch has amounted Galerius attacking a similarly mounted Narses with a lance as an eagle flies down upon Galerius bearing a victory wreath in its talons. The Caesar sits securely on his rearing horse, while the Persian king appears at the point of being unhorsed. Terrified Persians cower under the hooves of the Caesar's horse in the chaos of battle. The message of the panel is a competence and power of the Caesar Galerius.

The relief of the imperial family conjoined in a sacrifice of thanksgiving owes its distant prototype to the Augustan reliefs on the Ara Pacis in Rome. The presence at his side of Galerius' wife, Diocletian's daughter Valeria, served to authenticate his links to his predessor. Here as elsewhere all the faces have been carefully chiselled off, whether as damnatio memoriae or in Christian intolerance of images.

In another panel, the tetrarchs are all arrayed in the toga as a Victoria holds a victory wreath out to the heads of the two Augusti. A third panel celebrates the unity and strength of the tetrarchy with a depiction of the tetrarchs standing in unison; the depersonalized manner in which the tetrarchs are portrayed is reminiscent of the schematic statues of the tetrarchs in porphyry at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. In this instance,only Galerius is dressed in armor, and he makes the offering upon the altar.

More than simply depicting the victory of the Caesar Galerius, what remains of the arch asserts the glory of the tetrarchy and the prominence of Galerius within that system. The arch celebrates the relevance to the Roman Empire as a whole of Galerius' victory over the Sassanid king.