
QUICK FACTS
Name: Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
What it is: A bronze statue of a Roman emperor on horseback
Where it is from: Rome, Italy
When it was made: Circa A.D. 175
The tradition of depicting emperors on horseback as a symbol of leadership was common in ancient Rome. But only one equestrian statue of a pagan Roman emperor has survived into the present: the larger-than-life-size bronze depiction of Marcus Aurelius, who reigned from A.D. 161 to 180.