Bust of Emperor Trajan

Trajan (18 September 53 – 8 August 117 AD) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Officially declared by the Senate optimus princeps (the best ruler), Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history, leading the empire to attain its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death. He is also known for his philanthropic rule, overseeing extensive public building programs 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 and prosperity in the Mediterranean world. Born in the city of Italica in the province of Hispania Baetica, Trajan's non-patrician family was of Italian and perhaps Iberian origin. 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 Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator 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, Nerva was compelled to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. He died on 27 January 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. However, its exposed position north of the Danube made it susceptible to attack on three sides, and it was later abandoned by Emperor Aurelian. Trajan's war against the Parthian Empire ended with the sack of the capital Ctesiphon and the annexation of Armenia and Mesopotamia. His campaigns expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent. 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 ashes were laid to rest under Trajan's Column. He was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.图拉真（Trajan，公元53年9月18日—公元117年8月8日）是公元98年至117年在位的罗马皇帝（Roman Emperor）。元老院正式授予其“最优元首（optimus princeps）”称号，图拉真以功勋卓著的军人皇帝形象载入史册：他主导了罗马历史上规模最大的军事扩张，在其驾崩时将罗马帝国的疆域推至极盛。同时，他以仁政闻名，主持了大规模公共建筑工程并推行社会福利政策，这为他赢得了“五贤帝（Five Good Emperors）”第二位的不朽声誉——五贤帝统治时期是地中海世界（Mediterranean World）和平与繁荣的时代。 图拉真出生于西班牙贝提卡行省（Hispania Baetica）的伊塔利卡（Italica），其家族并非贵族出身，祖籍意大利，可能兼有伊比利亚血统。图拉真在皇帝图密善（Domitian）统治时期崭露头角，曾担任塔拉戈纳西班牙行省（Hispania Tarraconensis）的军团指挥官（legatus legionis）。公元89年，他支持图密善镇压由安东尼斯·萨图尔尼努斯（Antonius Saturninus）在莱茵河（Rhine）沿岸发动的叛乱。公元96年9月，图密善驾崩，由年迈无嗣且不受军队拥戴的元老院议员马尔库斯·科凯乌斯·涅尔瓦（Marcus Cocceius Nerva）继位。在短短一年动荡的执政期后，禁卫军（Praetorian Guard）发动叛乱，涅尔瓦被迫收养更受拥戴的图拉真作为继承人。公元98年1月27日，涅尔瓦驾崩，其养子图拉真顺利继位。 作为民政管理者，图拉真最广为人知的成就是大规模公共建筑工程，这些工程重塑了罗马城（Rome），并留下了诸多传世地标，如图拉真广场（Trajan's Forum）、图拉真市场（Trajan's Market）与图拉真柱（Trajan's Column）。执政初期，他吞并了纳巴泰王国（Nabataean Kingdom），设立佩特拉阿拉伯行省（Arabia Petraea）。他对达契亚（Dacia）的征服为帝国带来了巨额财富，因为新行省拥有丰富的金矿。但达契亚地处多瑙河（Danube）以北，地理位置暴露，易遭三面围攻，后来皇帝奥勒良（Aurelian）放弃了这片领地。 图拉真对帕提亚帝国（Parthian Empire）的战争以攻陷其首都泰西封（Ctesiphon）、吞并亚美尼亚（Armenia）和美索不达米亚（Mesopotamia）告终。他的远征将罗马帝国的疆域扩张至历史峰值。公元117年末，在返回罗马的航行途中，图拉真身染重疾，在塞利努斯城（Selinus）因中风（stroke）驾崩。元老院将其神化（deified），他的骨灰安葬于图拉真柱之下。其养子哈德良（Hadrian）继位。