One of the best-preserved and most significant Roman Imperial monuments, the column of Marcus Aurelius is depicts some of the most violent and harrowing scenes of warfare known from the Roman world. Commissioned by the Emperor Commodus, the column’s shaft is decorated with a spiral frieze commemorating his father’s campaigns in against the Marcomanni and the Samartians. In the first ever detailed study of this monument, Iain Ferris analyzes the military campaigns recorded on the frieze and discusses the column in its broader political, artistic, and cultural context. This is an important study of a period that proved to be a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire, with a growing and deep-seated fear of barbarian incursions dating from this time, a fear that was to prove justified for the Western Roman Empire. Dr Iain Ferris is a professional archaeologist of forty-four years standing and has taught at Birmingham and Manchester Universities. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has published widely. His research interests include Roman art and material culture and Romano-British archaeology and artefacts. He has directed major archaeological research excavations in northern and midland England and has served as a member of the Archaeology Committee of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. His titles for Amberley include the Mirror of Venus: Women in Roman Art, Cave Canem: Animals and Roman Society, and Roman Britain Through its Objects. He lives in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales.