Trajan Emperor of Rome Term Paper

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Rise to Power of Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, Trajan Emperor of Rome

This is an essay on Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, Emperor of Rome. It discusses his rise to power and rein as emperor. Two sources are used. MLA.

Trajan Emperor of Rome

Marcus Ulpius Trajanus was born on "the fourteenth day before the kaleds of March" or in other words, September 18th, probably in the year AD 52 at Italica near Seville, Spain. Being of Spanish origin made him the first emperor who did not come from Italy, even though he was from an old Umbrian family from Tuder in northern Italy. Having chosen to settle in Spain, the family was not a purely provincial one (Empire, pg).

Trajan was the son of a Senator, Consul, and Governor of Asia and Syria. His father, also Macus Ulpius Trajanus, commanded the Tenth Legion "Fretensis" in the Jewish War of AD 67-68. He became consul in AD 70 and in AD 75 he became governor of Syria, which was one of the key military provinces in the empire. Later, he became governor of the provinces of Baetica and Asia (Rome, pg) (Empire, pg). Very little is known of his mother, Marcia. His sister, Ulpia Maciana, had a granddaughter who married Hadrian. Trajan married Pompeia Plotina (Caesars, pg).

Trajan served as a military tribune in Syria during the governorship of his father. He gained the office of praetorship in AD 85 and soon won command of the Seventh Legion 'Gemina' based at Legio (Leon) in northern Spain. In AD 88/89 he marched this legion into Upper Germany to help in suppressing the rebellion of Saturninus against Domitian (Empire, pg). This swift action, although too late, won him the goodwill of Domitian.

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Nerva, Domitian's successor, made Trajan governor of Upper Germany in AD 96. In AD 97, Nerva sent a handwritten note to Trajan informing him of his adoption. Trajan then summoned the leaders of the earlier mutiny by the praetorians to Upper Germany and executed them upon arrival. Such ruthless actions gained him a formidable reputation (Empire, pg).

When Nerva died in AD 98, Trajan went on a tour of inspection to the legions of the Rhine and Danube frontiers to bolster his support among the soldiers. Trajan arrived in Rome in AD 99 to jubilant crowds. The new emperor entered the city on foot, in the manner of a private citizen, embracing each senator and even walking among the ordinary people (Empire, pg). He entered the palace as if it was just another house. This was the beginning of a great age for Rome, the reign of Optimus Princeps, Emperor Trajan (Caesars, pg). Such modesty helped Trajan gain even more support during the first year of his reign. He then gained even more respect when he promised the senate that he would always keep them informed about the affairs of government and moreover, when he declared that the emperor's right to rule to be compatible with the freedom of the people who were ruled (Empire, pg).

Although an educated man, Trajan was not particularly learned. He loved hunting and mountain climbing. He possessed a true sense of dignity and humility, thus, making him in the eyes of the Romans an emperor of true virtue (Empire, pg). The Empire adored him so much that he often roamed the streets with a bodyguard.….....

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