Trajan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Trajan |
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| Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
Marble bust of Trajan.
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| Reign | 28 January 98 — 9 August 117 (19 years, 193 days) |
| Full name | Marcus Ulpius Traianus (from birth to adoption); Caesar Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (from adoption to accession); Imperator Caesar Divi Nervae filius Nerva Traianus Optimus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus Parthicus (as emperor) |
| Born | 18 September 53 |
| Birthplace | Italica, ancient Hispania |
| Died | 9 August 117 (aged 63) |
| Place of death | Selinus, Cilicia |
| Buried | Rome |
| Predecessor | Nerva |
| Successor | Hadrian |
| Wife | Pompeia Plotina |
| Children | Hadrian (adoptive) |
| Dynasty | Nervan-Antonine |
| Father | Marcus Ulpius Traianus |
| Mother | Marcia |
Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, 18 September 53 – 9 August 117) was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian.
Serving as a general in the Roman army along the German frontier, Trajan successfully put down the revolt of Antonius Saturninus in 89.
In September 96, Domitian was succeeded by Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard compelled him to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. Nerva died on 27 January 98, and was succeeded by Trajan without incident.
Trajan as Emperor
As a civilian administrator, Trajan is best known for his extensive public building program which reshaped the city of Rome and left multiple enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column.
Early in his reign he annexed Nabataea (between the Arabian and Sinai peninsulas), creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly - the new province possessed many valuable gold mines. His war against the Parthian Empire ended with the sack of its capital Ctesiphon and the annexation of Armenia and Mesopotamia. His campaigns expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent.
In late 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and died of a stroke in the city of Selinus. He was deified by the Senate, and succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.
As an emperor, Trajan's reputation has endured — he is one of the few rulers whose reputation has survived nineteen centuries. Every new emperor after him was honoured by the Senate with the prayer felicior Augusto, melior Traiano, meaning "may he be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan". Among medieval Christian theologians, Trajan was considered a "virtuous pagan", while the 18th century historian Edward Gibbon popularized the notion of the Five Good Emperors, of which Trajan was the second.
Images for kids
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Trajan wearing the civic crown and military garb such as a muscle cuirass, 2nd century AD, Antalya Archaeological Museum
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Statue of Trajan, Luna marble and Proconessian marble, 2nd century AD, from Ostia Antica
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Trajan's Column, Rome
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Statue of Trajan, posing in military garb, in front of the Amphitheater of Colonia Ulpia Traiana in the Xanten Archaeological Park
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Tabula Traiana near Trajan's Bridge in Đerdap National Park, Serbia
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Aureus issued by Trajan to celebrate the conquest of Parthia. Inscription: IMP. CAES. NER. TRAIAN. OPTIM. AVG. GER. DAC. PARTHICO / P. M., TR. P., CO[N]S. VI, P. P., S.P.Q.R. – PARTHIA CAPTA
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Anatolia, western Caucasus and northern Levant under Trajan
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Trajan, "the Palladium", white marble statue at Naples Archeological Museum, late 1st century AD
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Sestertius during 116 to commemorate Trajan's Parthian victories. Obverse: bust of Trajan, with laurel crown; caption: IMP. CAES. NERV. TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC. PARTHICO P. M., TR. P., COS VI, P. P.; Reverse: Trajan standing between prostrate allegories of Armenia (crowned with a tiara) and the Rivers Tigris & Euphrates; caption: ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P. R. REDACTAE (put under the authority of the Roman People) – S. C. (Senatus Consultus, issued by the Senate).
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A coin of Trajan, found together with coins of the Kushan ruler Kanishka, at the Ahin Posh Buddhist Monastery, Afghanistan. Caption: IMP. CAES. NER. TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC.
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The Roman Empire under Trajan, 117 AD
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Bust of Trajan, Glyptothek, Munich
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The Alcántara Bridge, Spain, widely hailed as a masterpiece of Roman engineering
