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Trajan

Reece Period attributed: Period 5

Obverse image of a coin of Trajan

Member of the The Adoptive Emperors dynasty.

Coins for this issuer were issued from 98 until 117.

Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (Caesar) was born in AD 53 and spent much of his early career in Syria, where his father was governor. He later served as governor of Germany under Nerva, who also adopted him. After Nerva’s death he entered Rome humbly, but soon began military campaigns.

Trajan treated his citizens well and was known for his affability. He exiled his enemies, but did not kill them, and engaged in public works and restored infrastructure. Trajan’s column still stands at the end of Trajan’s Forum in Rome; the emperor levelled that hilly region and constructed more public buildings.

Although a pederast and heavy drinker, Trajan was well-liked for his policies and government. Among other military endeavours, he conquered Armenia and won many honorific military titles. He died from complications of a possible stroke, though Trajan believed he had been poisoned. He was deified and his ashes placed at the foot of his column.

Other resources about Trajan

View all coins recorded by the scheme attributed to Trajan.

Information from Wikipedia

  • Preferred label: Trajan
  • Full names:
    • Title:
    • Predecessor: Nerva
    • Successor: Hadrian
    • Definition: Trajan (/ˈtreɪdʒən/ TRAY-jən; Latin: Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 53 – 9/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared optimus princeps ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over one of the greatest military expansions in Roman history and led the empire to attain its greatest territorial extent by the time of his death. He is also known for his philanthropic rule, overseeing extensive public and implementing social welfare policies, which earned him his enduring reputation as the second of the Five Good Emperors who presided over an era of peace within the Empire and prosperity in the Mediterranean world. Trajan was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in present-day Spain, a small Roman municipium founded by Italic settlers in the province of Hispania Baetica. He came from a branch of the gens Ulpia, the Ulpi Traiani, that originated in the Umbrian town of Tuder. His father Marcus Ulpius Traianus, also born in Italica, was a senator, and therefore Trajan was born into a senatorial family. Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in 89 Trajan supported Domitian against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus. In September 96, Domitian was succeeded by the old and childless Nerva, who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, culminating in a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard, he decided to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. Nerva died in 98 and was succeeded by his adopted son without incident. As a civilian administrator, Trajan is best known for his extensive public building program, which reshaped the city of Rome and left numerous enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market, and Trajan's Column. Early in his reign, he annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly, as the new province possessed many valuable gold mines. Trajan's war against the Parthian Empire ended with the sack of the capital Ctesiphon and the annexation of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and (possibly) Assyria. 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 his cousin and successor, Hadrian, whom Trajan had supposedly adopted while on his deathbed. According to historical tradition, Trajan's ashes were entombed in a small room beneath Trajan's Column.
    • Parents:
    • Birth place: Hispania Baetica, Italica
    • Death place: Selinus (Cilicia), Cilicia (Roman province)
    • Spouse:
    • Other title(s):
      • List of Roman consuls
      • Roman emperor
      • Optimus Princeps
    • Came After:
      • Lucius Julius Ursus
      • Hadrian
      • Sextus Attius Suburanus
      • Marcus Licinius Ruso
      • Publius Valerius Marinus
      • Lucius Maecius Postumus
      • Q. Glitius Atilius Agricola II
    • Came before:
      • Marcus Junius Homullus
      • Publius Coelius Apollinaris
      • Aulus Cornelius Palma Frontonianus
      • Tacitus
      • Lucius Antonius Albus
      • Tiberius Claudius Sacerdos Julianus
      • Gnaeus Pompeius Catullinus
      • Nerva
      • Quintus Sosius Senecio
      • Lucius Roscius Aelianus Maecius Celer
      • Marcus Ostorius Scapula (consul 59)
      • Lucius Octavius Crassus
    • Subjects on wikipedia:

    Types issued

    Issuing mints

    Adrian Murdoch's Emperor's of Rome

    This video has been embedded from Adrian Murdoch's series of podcasts on the Emperors of Rome. Many thanks to him for allowing us to use these podcasts.

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