Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajan

Marcus Ulpius Trajan was Roman emperor in 98–117, born at Italica in Spain in 53. His father pursued a senatorial career; Trajan himself had extensive military experience before Nerva adopted him in 97. He succeeded Nerva on the latter’s death.

Two wars against Decebalus in 101–102 and 105–106 led to the creation of Dacia. The Nabataean kingdom was annexed as Arabia in 106. During war with Parthia, Trajan occupied Armenia and much of Mesopotamia, captured Ctesiphon and reached the Persian Gulf. These eastern acquisitions were short-lived.

He died in Cilicia in 117 and was succeeded by Hadrian, a relative and declared adopted heir. Germanicus, Dacicus and Parthicus commemorated military successes. The numeral following imperator in his titulature counts military acclamations, not thirteen separate accessions.

Trajan was tall and well built. His face had a concentrated expression of self-respect, enhanced by premature graying. Here is what Dion Cassius wrote about his habits: "He stood out for his justice, bravery, and unassuming habits… He did not envy anyone or kill anyone, but he respected and exalted all worthy people without exception, without feeling hatred or fear for them. He did not pay attention to the slanderers and did not give vent to his anger. He had no sense of self-interest, and he did not commit unrighteous murders. He spent a great deal of money on both war and peace work, and having done a great deal of badly needed rebuilding of roads, harbors, and public buildings, he did not shed any blood in these enterprises... He was close to people not only in hunting and feasting, but also in their labors and intentions… He liked to easily enter the houses of the townspeople, sometimes without guards. He lacked education in the strict sense of the word, but in fact he knew a lot and could do it. I know, of course, about his taste for boys and wine. But if, as a result of his weaknesses, he committed base or immoral acts, this would cause widespread condemnation. However, it is known that he drank as much as he wanted, but at the same time kept his mind clear, and in his relations with the boys he did not harm anyone." Here is what Aurelius Victor says in his work On the Caesars: "Trajan was just, merciful, long-suffering, very faithful to his friends; thus, he dedicated to his friend Sura a building: (namely) baths called Suran. He had such confidence in the sincerity of the people that, as was the custom, when he presented the dagger, the badge of his authority, to the prefect of the Praetorium named Suburan, he repeatedly reminded him: "I give you this weapon to protect me, if I act correctly, and if not, then against me." After all, the one who manages others should not allow even the slightest mistake in himself. Moreover, by his self-control, he softened his habitual taste for wine, which Nerva also suffered from: he did not allow orders given after long-drawn-out feasts to be carried out." Trajan made significant changes to the overall structure of the Roman army. Were created: Legions II The Undaunted Trajan and XXX the Victorious Ulpiev (both in 105 for the second Dacian campaign, so that the total number of legions reached a maximum of 30 under the Empire) Ala I Ulpia contariorum miliaria and Ulpia dromedariorum, consisting of fighting camels, several units from Romanized Dacians and 6 auxiliary cohorts from Nabataeans A new mounted guard (equites singulares) with an initial strength of 500 men from Thrace, Pannonia, Dacia and Raetia. The so-called Frumentarii were transformed into an intelligence formation based in a Foreign camp (Castra Peregrinorum). To strengthen the Danube border, the Trajan Rampart was erected. There are 3 new positions in the medical service-medicus legionis, medicus cohortis and optio valetudinarii (respectively, legion and cohort medic and head of a military hospital).

Dacian Campaign

At the very beginning of his reign, Trajan began to prepare for the Dacian campaign, designed to once and for all remove the serious threat that had long hung over the Danube border. Preparations took almost a year to complete — new fortresses, bridges, and roads were built in the mountainous regions of Moesia, and troops drawn up from Germany and the eastern provinces were added to the nine legions stationed on the Danube. On the basis of the VII Claudian Legion in Viminacium, a shock fist was assembled from 12 legions,16 al and 62 auxiliary cohorts totaling up to 200 thousand people. After that, in March 101, the Roman army, violating the treaty of Domitian and divided into two columns (the western one was commanded by Trajan himself), crossed the Danube by a pontoon bridge. These forces were opposed by the approximately 160,000-strong Decebalus army (including the 20,000 — strong Bastarnae, Roxolani, and presumably Boer allies). The Romans had to fight heavy battles; the aggressor faced a worthy opponent who not only resisted staunchly, but also courageously counterattacked on the Roman side of the Danube. In Tibiscum, the army was reunited and began to move towards Tapae. Tapae was located on the outskirts of the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa, where in September a battle took place with the Dacians who put up stubborn resistance. After rejecting Decebalus' request for peace, Trajan was forced to come to the aid of the attacked fortresses south of the Danube. There he was successful-the procurator of Lower Moesia Laberius Maximus captured the sister of Decebalus, and the trophies captured after the defeat of Cornelius Fuscus were recaptured without a fight. In February 102, a bloody battle took place near Adamclisi, during which Trajan ordered his own clothes to be torn into bandages. Nearly 4,000 Romans were killed. In honor of this Pyrrhic victory, monumental monuments, a huge mausoleum, a grave altar with a list of the dead and a small mound were erected in Adamclisi. In the spring, a counteroffensive was launched, but the Romans, with considerable effort, drove the Dacians back into the mountains.

Trajan again rejected the repeated request for peace and in the autumn managed to approach Sarmizegetusa. On the third request to negotiate, Trajan agreed, since his army was already exhausted in the battles, but with rather harsh conditions for the Dacians. Although in the late autumn of 102, neither Trajan nor his commanders believed in the successful completion of the struggle. Nevertheless, in December, the triumph was celebrated, and in order to be able to quickly transfer reinforcements to Dacia, Trajan ordered his civil engineer Apollodorus to build a grand stone bridge over the Danube near the fortress of Drobeta, but due to non-compliance with the treaty, its construction was accelerated, and the protection was entrusted to the legion Legion I "Italica" (legio I "Italica"). On June 4,105, Trajan was forced to start a new campaign, but he mobilized a smaller force — 9 legions,10 mounted troops,35 auxiliary cohorts (more than 100 thousand people in total) and two Danube flotillas. At the beginning of the war, another bridge was built across the Danube to transport legions to Dacia faster. As a result of the fighting, the Romans again penetrated the mountains of Orestia and stopped at Sarmizegetusa. The attack on the capital Sarmizegetusa took place in the early summer of 106, with the participation of the II Auxiliary Legion and the IV Happy Flavian Legion and a vexilation from the VI Iron Legion. The Dacians repulsed the first attack, but the Romans destroyed the water supply to take the city faster. Trajan laid siege to the fortress-turned capital. In July, Trajan took it, but in the end the Dacians set it on fire, and some of the nobles committed suicide to avoid capture. The remnants of the troops, together with Decebalus, fled to the mountains, but in September they were overtaken by a Roman cavalry detachment led by Tiberius Claudius Maximus. Decebalus committed suicide, and Tiberius cut off his head and right arm and sent them to Trajan, who handed them over to Rome. By the end of the summer of 106, Trajan's forces had crushed the last pockets of resistance, and Dacia had become a Roman province. Not far from Sarmizegetusa, the new capital of Dacia was laid — Ulpia Traiana (Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica). The newly conquered lands were flooded with immigrants from the empire, mainly from its Balkan and generally eastern suburbs. Along with them, new religious cults, customs, and languages reigned in the new lands. The settlers were attracted by the riches of the beautiful region and, above all, by the gold found in the mountains. According to the late Antique author John Lydus, who referred to the military physician Trajan Titus Statilius Crito, about 500 thousand prisoners of war were taken. In the Dacian campaigns, Trajan managed to create a corps of talented commanders, which included Lucius Licinius Sura, Lucius Quietus and Quintus Marcius Turbo. The northern coast of Pontus (the Black Sea) fell under Roman influence. Control over the Bosporus and political influence over the Iberians were strengthened. The triumph of the emperor took place in the year 107 and was grandiose. The games lasted 123 days and were attended by approximately 10,000 gladiators. The Dacian trophies totaled five million pounds of gold and ten million pounds of silver. The celebration was made more solemn by distinguished guests from India.

Eastern Campaign

In 106 Rome annexed the Nabataean kingdom as Arabia, with Bostra as its capital. The Via Nova Traiana connected northern and southern districts. The province included cities, agricultural areas and trade routes; desert was not an absolute boundary of all human activity.

An Armenian succession dispute occasioned war with Parthia. Trajan occupied Armenia in 114 and then advanced into Mesopotamia. Romans captured Ctesiphon in 116 and the emperor reached the Persian Gulf. Antioch’s earthquake in 115 complicated conditions at the army’s rear.

Ancient tradition also mentions a province of Assyria, but its existence, boundaries and organisation remain debated. There is no basis for asserting that Trajan conquered all Hyrcania near the Caspian Sea. The story that he wished to repeat Alexander’s Indian campaign does not prove an executable invasion plan.

Revolts and supply difficulties exposed the new possessions’ fragility. After Trajan died in 117, Hadrian abandoned most eastern acquisitions and restored a different arrangement with Parthia and Armenia.

Related topics

• Roman Empire
• Antonine dynasty
• Emperors of Rome
• The Tropaeum Traiani
• Trajan's Column

Literature and sources

Ancient authors: - Pliny the Younger. "Panegyric". "Letters" - Dion Cassius. "Roman History", LXVIII,(from English — " "text by Loeb Classical Library) - Aurelius Victor. "On the Caesars." XIII. - Eutropius. "The Breviary from the Foundation of the City", VIII,2-6 - Pseudo-Aurelius Victor. epitome XIII. - Pausanias. Description of Hellas. 4.35.2 and 5.12.4. Contemporary authors: - M. Grant. "Roman Emperors" - K. Christ. "History of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine" - S. I. Kovalev. History of Rome, ch. VII - Shadrina V. Y. 2005: Ideological policy of Emperor Trajan: its essence, features and significance: Author's diss... Candidate of Historical Sciences. - Yu. A. Kolosovskaya. War of Trajan with the Dacians / / Rome and the world of tribes on the Danube I-IV centuries AD-Moscow: Nauka,2000. - Werner Eck: Trajan. 98-117. In: Manfred Clauss (Hrsg.): Die römischen Kaiser. C. H. Beck, München 1997, ISBN 3-406-42727-8, S. 111—124. - Martin Fell: Optimus princeps? Anspruch und Wirklichkeit der imperialen Programmatik Kaiser Traians. 2. Auflage. Tuduv, München 2001, ISBN 3-88073-586-7. - Miriam Griffin: Trajan. In: Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey und Dominic Rathbone (eds.): The Cambridge Ancient History 11. The High Empire, A. D. 70-192. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-521-26335-2, pp. 96–131. (review)

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Roman Empire