Ramaswamy Venkataraman ( 04 December 1910 – 27 January 2009) was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union Minister and as the eighth President of India.
Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village in Tanjore district, Madras Presidency. He studied law and practised in the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court of India. In his young age, he was an activist of the Indian independence movement and participated in the Quit India Movement. He was appointed as the member of the Constituent Assembly and the provisional cabinet. He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times and served as Union Finance Minister and Defense Minister. In 1984, he was elected as the seventh Vice President of India and in 1987, he became the 8th President of India and served from 25 July 1987 to 25 July 1992. He also served as a State minister under K. Kamaraj and M. Bhaktavatsalam.
The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, the arch spans the Via triumphalis, the route taken by victorious military leaders when they entered the city in a triumphal procession. Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch, with overall dimensions of.21 m high, 25.9 m wide and 7.4 m deep. It has three bays, the central one being 11.5 m high and 6.5 m wide and the laterals 7.4 m by 3.4 m each. The arch is constructed of brick-faced concrete reveted in marble.
The three bay design with detached columns was first used for the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum (which stands at the end of the triumph route) and repeated in several other arches now lost.
The arch, which was constructed between 312 and 315 AD, was dedicated by the Senate to commemorate ten years of Constantine's reign (306–337) and his victory over the then reigning emperor Maxentius (306–312) at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on 28 October 312,as described on its attic inscription,and officially opened on 25 July 315.
