Rome30 The equestrian monument dedicated to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD) seems not to be mentioned in ancient literary sources, but it is likely to have been erected either in 176 AD, contemporarily with the other honors paid to the emperor in connection with his triumph over the Germanic peoples, or in 180 AD, that is immediately after his death. In that period the equestrian statues were quite diffused in Rome; the late imperial descriptions of the regions of the town mention at least twenty-two sculptures called eui magni, that is larger than life-size, exactly like the monument of Marcus Aurelius. However, this sculpture is the sole to have been handed down to us through the centuries. There is no reliable information as to the statue's ancient site of erection. It can only be said that the statue was erected for a public dedication and therefore that the most probable original setting was the Roman Forum or the square with the dynastic temple that circled the Autonine Column. In January 1538, on the wish of Pope Paul III of the Farnese family, the statue was moved on to the Capitol Hill. A year after its arrival, the Roman Senate entrusted Michelangelo with the task of rearranging the setting of the statue. The great Florentine master made the monument the visual focus of such a wonderful architectural setting as the Piazza del Campidoglio.