Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53 – August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98-117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire. Under his rule, the Empire reached its greatest territorial extent.

Biography

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Early life and rise to power

Trajan was the son of Marcia and Marcus Ulpius Traianus, a prominent senator and general from the famous gens Ulpia. The family had settled in the province of Hispania Baetica in what is now Andalusia, a province that was thoroughly Romanized and called southern Hispania. Trajan himself was just one of many well-known Ulpii in a line that continued long after his own death. His elder sister was Ulpia Marciana and his niece was Salonina Matidia.

He was born on September 18 53, in the city of Italica. As a young man, he rose through the ranks of the Roman army, serving in some of the most contentious parts of the Empire's frontier. In 76 – 77, Trajan's father was Governor of Syria (Legatus pro praetore Syriae), where Trajan himself remained as Tribunus legionis. Trajan was nominated as Consul and brought Apollodorus of Damascus with him to Rome around 91. Along the Rhine River, he took part in the Emperor Domitian's wars well under Domitian's successor, Nerva, who was unpopular with the army and needed to do something to gain their support. He accomplished this by naming Trajan as his adoptive son and successor in the summer of 97. It was the future Emperor Hadrian who brought word to Trajan of his adoption, and thus had Trajan's favour for the rest of his life. When Nerva died on January 27 98, the highly respected Trajan succeeded without incident, making him the first non-Italian Roman to become Emperor.

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#quakelive Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, http://tinyurl.co
alexandrewack (wack) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:29:40 -0000
#quakelive Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, http://tinyurl.co
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RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
wyliekuhn (Wylie Kuhn) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:23:31 -0000
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
idsoftware (id Software) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:12:41 -0000
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
EESHOQ (Martin Schuetze) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:35:17 -0000
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...
MistrBlue (Austin) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:30:50 -0000
RT @quakelive: Congratulations to Trajan, first player in Quake Live to get 250,000 frags, earning himself the Dark Angel award http://t ...

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