Trajan

Word Count: 499

Throughout all civilizations, each one of them has had a leader that has been willing to rule that specific realm or even go on conquests to conquer other lands by force and cal them there own. Each emperor thinks that they are the greatest to ever live, but they did not know what rue greatness was. Emperor Trajan, of the Roman Empire was the greatest in all of time. What made him so great was that he was kind and generous despite the fact that sometimes going to war seemed like it was just for more glory and fame. Trajan was very kind and generous when it came to the common people of Rome. In fact, he is one of the only emperors in the history of civilizations that was not all about conquests and doing what has to be done, no matter who gets hurt. He did go on conquer new lands for the empire and did what has to be done, but he often went to the people to get their opinion. An example of this is when he returned from one of his most famous campaigns, which was called the Dacian campaign.[1] This campaign came about when Trajan wanted to improve Rome’s relationship with the powerful Dacian kingdom. The ruler was Domitian and he pursued a policy of accommodation in which Trajan had disagreed. [2] Once Trajan and his army set foot in his realm a war broke out and Trajan suffered great losses but he returned home a victor after signing a treaty with Domitian. He shared the loot from his journey with the common people. Trajan was the kind of man that changed something if he thought it was wrong. An example of this action is how he divided up currency and food monthly so that the poor and the common people would have enough money and food. Greatness is defined for a leader based on their actions and what they do with their power. Trajan fits these criteria because of how he is connected with the common people and how he only goes to war if Rome is attacked or he feels the need for it. He is not the kind of emperor that would sit around behind the lines of the battle, he would fight them and stand with his soldiers. One negative side of Emperor Trajan is that during one point of his ruling he reopened the case of the Dacian wars in 105. “ Why he did so is unclear. The Romans claimed that the Dacian king had broken the terms of his treaty. Trajan may, however, have simply been seeking greater glory.”[3] This seemed unusual for Trajan because he never usually executed moves like this. He might have done this because of wanting to get his name spread around the world even more, or maybe he wanted to keep expanding the size of his empires boundaries. Trajan was an emperor adored by all of his people and he was the type of royalty that had been adopted into the empire by emperor Nerva who made him his successor.[4] This was truly a leader that climbed the ladder of ranking quickly and efficiently but who also knew what the important things in life are.

Bibliography

Sizgorich, Tom. "Trajan." In //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed April 10, 2012. [].

// World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras //, s.v. "Trajan," Image, Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, accessed April 10, 2012. [].

// World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras //, s.v. "Trajan's column in Rome," Image, Allan T. Kohl/Art Images for College Teaching, accessed April 10, 2012. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/.

Benario, Herbert W. "Trajan (A.D. 98-117)." Emory University. Accessed April 10, 2012. http://www.roman-emperors.org/trajan.htm#Note%201.

Wikipedia contributors, "Trajan," //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,// [] (accessed April 10, 2012).

[1] Sizgorich, Tom. "Trajan." In //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed April 8, 2012. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/. [2] Benario, Herbert W. "Trajan (A.D. 98-117)." Emory University. Accessed April 10, 2012. http://www.roman-emperors.org/trajan.htm#Note%201.

[3] Sizgorich, Tom. "Trajan." In //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed April 8, 2012. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/.

[4] Sizgorich, Tom. "Trajan." In //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed April 10, 2012. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/.