The column, modeled after a Roman triumphal column, takes its name from the sculpted palm leaves at the top, commemorating Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign. The bands of bronze on the column pay tribute to Napoleon's victories at the siege of Danzig (1807), the Battle of Ulm (1805), the Battle of Marengo (1800), the Battle of the Pyramids (1798), and the Battle of Lodi (1796).