Emperor Trajan: brief biography, interesting facts, photo

Under Trajan, who ruled in 98-117, the Roman Empire reached its peak. This emperor conducted several successful wars with neighbors, engaged in the construction of cities and the colonization of new lands. He managed to find a common language with all layers of Roman society, thanks to which the empire for two decades enjoyed stability and prosperity.

Origin

The future emperor Trajan was born on September 18, 53 in the town of Italica, in the province of Betique. Today it is the territory of Spain. In the ancient era, it attracted all sorts of colonists. The homeland of Emperor Trajan was the subject of an acute dispute between Rome and Carthage. The boy's family was descended from soldiers who were moved by the famous Scipio during the Second Punic War in Italy. Initially, the ancestors of Trajan were originally from the Umbrian town of Tuder. Thus, it was the first Roman emperor, who came from a colonial clan, who achieved remarkable success in a remote province.

Trajan's own father was a governor in Syria. It is known that in the year 76 the future Caesar held military service there. When the empire was stirred up by Saturnin's rebellion, he was already the commander of the legion and took an active part in suppressing the mutiny. In 1991, Trajan became consul for his contribution to the victory over the troublemaker. In 97, he was made commander of troops in Upper Germany, where there was a constant war with the barbarians.

Heir of the Nerve

The predecessor of Trajan on the throne, Emperor Nerva, by education a lawyer, came up with a political system that provided prosperity of the Roman state for the next century. Prior to that, power in the Eternal City was passed from father to son, but this principle had many flaws, which caused regular uprisings of the Guards and the army. Nerva proposed an order according to which the incumbent emperor appointed his successor in accordance with his personal qualities and merits. In this heir could not be a relative of the ruler. In order to make the transfer of the throne legitimate Nerva laid the tradition of adopting successors. He did not hesitate for a long time with the candidacy of the heir.

In 97, the popular in the army Trajan, who was in Germany, learned that the emperor decided to adopt him. Soon he officially became co-regent of Nerva. And a few weeks later in the beginning of 98 it became known about the death of the emperor. Traian learned about this news in Cologne. To the surprise of all his associates and nobles, the new emperor (also he received the title of Princeps) did not return to Rome, but remained on the Rhine. A forward-looking military leader decided not to waste time on ceremonial, but instead continued to work to strengthen the border.

Beginning with this amazing episode, the reign of Emperor Trajan turned out to be the era of the heyday of the entire Roman Empire. The Tsar enjoyed universal support in the army, which became a reliable support for his power. The two main friends and companions of Trajan were his military leaders Julius Urs Servian and Lucius Licinius Sura.

As soon as the native of Italy became ruler, he immediately initiated the forced construction of roads on the borders along the right bank of the Rhine and along the Danube to the Black Sea. In 98 and 99, the emperor Trajan reorganized the protection of Roman lines in the region. His haste was justified: on the middle course of the Danube, the state was threatened by marcomannists and other Germanic tribes. And only after being assured of the security of the borders, Traian finally returned to Rome. It was autumn of 1999.

Conflict with Decebalus

The main military enterprise of the Roman Empire in the era of Trajan was its confrontation with the Dacians - a group of Thracian tribes who lived in modern Romania. In 87 - 106 years. These people rule Deczel. Between the Romans and the Dacians there were regular cross-border skirmishes. Emperor Trajan began to build communications on the Danube also in order to have convenient roads for the rapid onset of legions in this important area. During the period of the greatest escalation of the conflict, about 100 thousand Roman soldiers were concentrated on the border with Dacia.

Trajan decided to make a significant offensive, hoping to stop the stabilization of the power of Decebalus. Such a strategy was the classical course of the empire. The Romans did not tolerate strong neighbors around themselves, it was they who owned the famous slogan "Divide and conquer!". Thus, the defeat of Decebalus was to become a preventive measure necessary for the further calm of the empire. The Lower Danube and the Carpathians attracted Trajan also with rumors of rich deposits of minerals.

The Dacian War

In 101, the Senate declared war on Decebalus. Emperor Trajan himself led the army, set off on a long march. Her main camp was Viminacia in Upper Moesia. With the help of the pontoon bridge, the Roman troops crossed the Danube and moved deep into Dacia. In the autumn of 101, they attacked the camp of Decebal, located in the famous gorge Iron Gate. The Dacian leader had to retreat into the mountains.

When the Romans began to advance in Transylvania, the enemy penetrated into Lower Moesia, moving the epicenter of the war to the Lower Danube. In February 102 the most bloody battle of that campaign took place. About Adamklissi, the cost of living 4 thousand soldiers, the emperor of Rome Trajan defeated the Dacians. In honor of that victory, a huge mausoleum, monumental monuments and a grave altar on which the names of the dead were carved were erected in the place of the Sich.

In 102 Decebalus accepted the harsh conditions of the Romans. He handed over the empire all the land occupied by her army, significantly limited his power in Dacia, surrendered military equipment and weapons, issued all defectors and refused to recruit legionaries. In fact, Decebal became a vassal of Rome and began to coordinate with him his foreign policy. In honor of the war won, his contemporaries began to call Trajan Duck. In December 102, he traditionally celebrated a well-deserved triumph.

Despite the defeat, Decebalus did not intend to kneel before the Romans. For several years he was preparing for a new clash with the empire. It began in the year 105. In response to the attacks of the Dacians from Rome to the Danube, additional reinforcements arrived (only 14 legions). They were about half of the entire army of the empire.

The next war was until the autumn of 106. On both sides, it was particularly fierce. The barbarians desperately resisted and even burned their own capital, Sarmizegetusu. In the end, Decebal suffered a final defeat, and his severed head as a trophy was sent to Rome, where it was, according to ancient custom, thrown into the mud. In devastated Dacia, Trajan established another imperial province.

Trajan the Builder

In ancient history there were few princes, so enthusiastic about building, as Emperor Trajan. A brief biography of this ruler is associated with the appearance of many architectural monuments. The ruins of some of them have survived to this day. After the victory over the Dacians, Trajan ordered the construction of a large stone bridge across the Danube. The author of the design was the famous architect Apollodorus Damaski. The 1.2 km long bridge stood on 20 supports and was one of the most impressive structures of its era.

Many buildings of the times of Trajan received his name (for example, the famous column of Emperor Trajan). This landmark appeared on the Roman forum in 113 year. It was erected in memory of the victories over the Dacians. The column was made of valuable Carrara marble. Together with the pedestal, its height reached 38 meters. Inside the hollow structure was put a screw ladder leading to the viewing platform. The masters covered the trunk with reliefs depicting episodes of the Dacian War.

Accession of Nabataea

In 106, the emperor Trajan, whose brief biography represents an example of a man who was not separated from the army, turned his gaze to the east. For the first time the Romans visited Arabia in the year 25, when the expedition Elia Gala went there. Trajan himself knew the east well, since he served in Syria in his youth. The neighbor of the empire was Nabatea. It was in that year that the discord caused by the death of King Rabile began in her. Luck smiled at the empire. The Romans easily occupied the territory from the Gulf of Aqaba to Khauran. In this region was formed the province of Arabia, directly subordinate to the princeps.

The biography of Emperor Trajan shows that he possessed a deep state mind and rational prudence. In the case of the occupation of Nabataea, he was guided by trade and political considerations. The seized kingdom was the last small state on the eastern borders of the empire. Absorption has made it possible to protect Egypt and Syria more reliably from raids.

As in Dacia in Arabia immediately began active construction. There were roads, fortifications and surveillance systems. Their task was to control the routes of caravans and oases in the border strip. The capital of the province was Batra, where Trajan sent VI Iron Legion. The second most important center was Petra. This city has long been famous for its beautiful temples and gardens. The development of the province was facilitated by the trade in rare Indian goods (in 107 the Indian embassy even arrived in Rome).

Trajan-colonizer

Contemporaries called their principle only "the best emperor Trajan." Indeed, its infectious activity gave a noticeable impetus to the development of the entire empire. Under Trajan, the colonial activity of the Romans reached its peak. He also occupied the settlement of North Africa. In the year 100 the new colony was founded in the Namidian Tamugadi, where before that there was an ancient Punjian post.

Cities that appeared in the era of Trajan, received a similar layout. They had a clear rectangular shape. In the middle there was a forum. The obligatory attributes of the Roman colony were theaters, libraries and thermae (characteristic pillars with human busts). Modern archaeologists have learned a lot about such settlements, founded precisely in North Africa, as the ruins of these cities are perfectly preserved thanks to desert sands.

Domestic policy

The initiative in colonialism and external wars did not mean that Trajan was not engaged in internal affairs. One of the reasons for the stability of the empire of that period was its ability to skillfully handle all classes and layers of Roman society. First and foremost, the princeps had a delicate attitude towards the senate. "First among equals" -that was the emperor Trajan, according to his official rhetoric. He was able to moderate pride when it came to public affairs.

At the same time, with the Senate, Trajan was lucky. His predecessor Domitian eliminated in this meeting the opposition in the face of the old Italian and Roman aristocracy. The Senate was filled by the natives of the province - exactly the same as Trajan himself, with whom it was much easier to agree with him than with members of the eminent metropolitan families.

With respect to the equites, the emperor continued the course begun by Domitian. This privileged class played an important role in the political life of Rome. Traian gradually gave them new powers. So the management of finances and imperial property passed to equity. Princeps expanded the list of management positions that riders could occupy.

As for the ordinary people, he quickly fell in love with such a ruler as was Emperor Trajan. A brief biography of the crowned man is full of episodes when he gave generous donations to commoners on various occasions. A few thousand plebeian children were granted access to the distributed grain. Under Trajan in Rome, games and other popular mass spectacles were constantly arranged. He did a lot to not acquire a halo of a tyrant with whom many of his successors were included. Having received power, the ruler defiantly abolished the laws, according to which people were tried for insulting the emperor.

Armenian dispute

Against the backdrop of an active domestic policy and economic improvement of the state, the east, despite everything, remained a region closely followed by Trajan. The Roman emperor was sensitive to any important events on the Asian border. At some point, the cause of anxiety of Trajan was Armenia. It was equally dependent on Rome and Parthia, between which was located. In 112, Partamazirid sat on the Armenian throne. He was appointed to the Parthian king Khosroi. The problem was that the new monarch replaced Aksidares - the faithful vassal of the empire.

Suspicious activity of Chosroes irritated Rome. The Emperor Trajan himself could not help reacting to her. Interesting facts concerning his diplomatic decisions are known to modern historians due to the preserved archive and especially the correspondence of the princeps with the writer and lawyer Pliny the Younger. At first, after the Armenian dispute arose, Trajan tried to negotiate with the Parthian king. Khosroi persisted, and oral exhortations led nowhere.

Then Trajan went to Antioch. It was January 114th. Because of the Parthian activity in the border region, riots began, but they subsided as soon as the emperor arrived there. Trajan, whose photo of busts is in every textbook on the history of antiquity, was staten, strong and handsome. In addition, he was a good speaker and was able to influence the audience. After calming down Antioch, Trajan led the army and moved to Armenia. Partamazirid, who accepted him, defiantly took off his crown, hoping to thereby gain the recognition of the Romans. The gesture did not help. Partamazirid was deprived of power. After deposition, he tried to escape. Parthian appointee was caught and executed.

Death

In 115, the war with Parthia began. At first Trajan went to Mesopotamia, where without special resistance he defeated the vassals of Khosran. Then the Roman army moved with two columns down the stream of the Euphrates and the Tiger. Legions occupied Babylon and the capital of Parthia Ctesiphon. As a result of that war, the empire annexed new lands in Mesopotamia. In this region was formed the province of Assyria. Trajan reached the Persian Gulf. Happy with the successes of the army, he began to plan a campaign to India.

However, the Emperor's hopes never came true. At the siege of Khatra he became seriously ill. I had to return to Antioch. There, Trajan overtook an apoplexy stroke, which partially paralyzed him. Princeps died on August 9, 117 in the Cilician city of Selinus.

Interesting Facts

Trajan left a lot of curious evidence about his life. The Roman emperor, interesting facts about which attracted the attention of biographers and writers of different epochs, corresponded a lot with Pliny the Younger. Their correspondence became an important monument of the epoch. Thanks to her, it became known that Trajan, in spite of his predecessors, was distinguished by a tolerant attitude towards Christians. He forbade anonymous denunciations of alleged heretics and excluded punishments for those who were ready to peacefully renounce their religion.

For the common people, Trajan became the embodiment of charity and justice. When the emperor went on a campaign to Dacia at the gates of his capital, the usual Roman woman overtook him. She begged Trajan to help save her son who had been falsely condemned for malicious slander. Then the governor stopped the army. He went to court, obtained his son's justification and only after that continued the campaign.

Curious and the relationship of Trajan with the Senate. Electors often wrote down tablets intended for secret voting, jokes and curses. This behavior gave the emperor a lot of worries. The episode with tablets clearly shows that the office of senator under Trajan, for all its honor, did not have a particular political significance.