Trajan (53-117 CE) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117, under whom the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent. A successful general before becoming emperor, he led campaigns that annexed the kingdom of Dacia and, late in his reign, pushed Roman control briefly into Mesopotamia against the Parthian Empire. His reign is also remembered for extensive public building in Rome, including Trajan's Forum and Trajan's Column, the latter carved with a continuous relief depicting the Dacian Wars, as well as major infrastructure projects across the provinces. He was formally granted the title optimus princeps, 'the best ruler,' by the Senate, and later Roman tradition held him up as a model against which subsequent emperors were measured.
Facts
Death YearThe source gives this date as approximate (c. 9 August 117). Death DateThe source gives this date as approximate (c. 9 August 117). BirthplaceItalica, Hispania Baetica (modern Santiponce, near Seville, Spain) 1 Death PlaceSelinus, in the Roman province of Cilicia (modern Turkey) 1 Disputed
Birth YearThe source states Trajan's year of birth is not reliably attested and may instead have been AD 56. Birth DateThe source states Trajan's year of birth is not reliably attested and may instead have been AD 56. Role
Role (category) Connections
In Era
Source Wikipedia: Trajan
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Europe, originated there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Trajan
WikipediaEarly life section
Marcus Ulpius Traianus was born on 18 September AD 53 in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica (in what is now Andalusia in modern Spain), in the municipium of Italica (now in the municipal area of Santiponce, in the outskirts of Seville), a Roman colony established in 206 BC by Scipio Africanus.
Lead paragraph, birth/death dates
Trajan ( TRAY-jən; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53, c. 9 August 117) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty.
Lead paragraph, career summary
In August AD 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and died of a stroke in the city of Selinus.
Lead paragraph, role
Trajan ( TRAY-jən; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53, c. 9 August 117) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty.
Lead paragraph, birth name
Trajan ( TRAY-jən; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53, c. 9 August 117) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty.
Trajan: Gender
A successful general before becoming emperor, he led campaigns that annexed the kingdom of Dacia and, late in his reign, pushed Roman control briefly into Mesopotamia against the Parthian Empire.
In Era: Classical Antiquity, lead paragraph, lifespan
Infobox: born 18 September 53; died c. 9 August 117 (aged 63)
View the Source Wikidata: Trajan
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