 Its original construction date in late antiquity is unknown, but it is sometimes named Constantine's Obelisk () after the inscription added by the Roman emperor Constantine VII "Porphyrogenitus", who repaired it in the 10th century.The -high The obelisk was most likely a Theodosian construction, built to mirror the Obelisk of Theodosius on the "spina" of the Roman circus of Constantinople; the Circus Maximus in Rome also had two obelisks on its "spina".The 10th-century emperor Constantine VII had the monument restored and coated with plates of gilt bronze; a Greek inscription in iambic trimeter was added at this time.