Trajan
| Trajan was an emperor of Rome who was the second of what is called the Five Good Emperors. It was under his leadership that the Roman Empire was able to reach its largest size. He was the son of a respected senator, and he spent time in the areas that are known as Hispania. He became a member of the Roman army, and he quickly moved up through the ranks. He served in one of the more dangerous portions of the empire. In 76, his father would become the governor of Syria, and he remained in the military during this time. He would eventually be elected to Consul and he fought a number of wars near the Rhine when Domitian was emperor. |  |
While many historians consider Nerva to be a good emperor, he was not very popular with the army. To gain the loyalty of the army, he made Trajan his adopted son and named him the heir of the Roman throne. Once Nerva died, Trajan was immediately given the title of emperor. It should also be noted that Trajan was the very first non-Italian to become emperor of the country. The people of Rome did not seem to have a problem with the fact that Trajan was not a Roman Italian. He was welcomed with open arms, and he governed in a way that voided the bloodshed that had been so prevalent throughout the reign of Domitian. There were a number of political dissidents who had been imprisoned during the reign of Domitian, and Trajan set about releasing them immediately.
In addition to this, he returned a lot of property that Domitian had confiscated. Trajan was one of the most popular emperors in Roman history, and though his popularity would rival Augustus, he has never reached the same level of fame. The Roman Senate would give him the title "optimus," which translates to "the best." A number of contemporary historians noted that Trajan was a heavy drinker. However, he was never noted as being violent while he was drunk. Trajan is best known for being a powerful commander of the Roman military. He was responsible for a number of reconnaissance missions in Dacia, which was near the Danube River. When the Dacian army opposed him, he crushed them at the battle of Tapae. Trajan and his army were eventually able to capture the city of Sarmizegethusa, forcing King Decebalus to submit to the might of Rome.
Original Authors: Stephen Palmer
Edit Update Authors: RPN
Updated On: 29/01/2007
