Emperor · 53 – 117
Trajan
Key Takeaways
- Under Trajan the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent.
- He conquered Dacia (modern Romania) and campaigned in the East.
- He is counted among the 'Five Good Emperors'.
- He built major public works, including Trajan's Forum and Column.
Under Trajan, Rome ruled more of the world than it ever would again. A soldier from the Spanish provinces who rose to the throne, he combined conquest abroad with just rule at home — and Romans remembered him as the best emperor they ever had.
The empire at its height
Trajan’s armies conquered Dacia (modern Romania), whose gold flooded Rome and paid for a magnificent new forum, market and the towering Trajan’s Column, which still records his victories. He pushed Roman power east into Mesopotamia, reaching the Persian Gulf — the farthest the empire ever extended.
The good emperor
Trajan was no mere conqueror. He expanded welfare for poor children, governed with fairness, and respected the Senate. So admired was he that for centuries Romans wished each new emperor to be “better than Trajan.” Counted among the Five Good Emperors with his successor Hadrian and later Marcus Aurelius, this ruler of the Roman Empire presided over its golden age.
Extended the Roman Empire to its largest size through the conquest of Dacia and campaigns in the East, undertook vast public works, and ruled so justly that later emperors were wished to be "more fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan."
Military Feats
- Conquered Dacia in two major wars, enriching Rome with its gold.
- Campaigned in Mesopotamia, pushing Roman power to the Persian Gulf.
Political Achievements
- Expanded social welfare programs for the poor and orphans (the alimenta).
- Built Trajan's Forum, Market and the famous Trajan's Column.
Historical influence score: 81/100
Influence
Trajan combined military glory with just and generous government, becoming the Roman ideal of the good emperor and presiding over the empire at its height.
Legacy
His column still stands in Rome, and for centuries the Senate wished new emperors to be 'better than Trajan'.
Little-Known Facts
- He was the first Roman emperor born in the provinces, in Roman Spain.
- Trajan's Column records his Dacian wars in a spiral of carved scenes 30 metres high.
Myths & Misconceptions
Was Trajan really considered the best emperor?
Romans held him in such regard that the Senate's blessing for later rulers was to be 'more fortunate than Augustus and better than Trajan'.
Connections
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Trajan?
Trajan (53–117 AD) was a Roman emperor under whom the empire reached its greatest size, remembered as one of the Five Good Emperors.
How big was the Roman Empire under Trajan?
Trajan brought the empire to its largest extent, stretching from Britain to the Persian Gulf, after his conquests of Dacia and parts of the East.
Citations & Sources
People Like Trajan
Hadrian
80Hadrian was a Roman emperor, one of the "Five Good Emperors", who consolidated rather than expanded the empire, traveled tirelessly through its provinces, and built the great frontier wall in Britain that still bears his name.
Why His successor and kinsman, who consolidated the empire Trajan had expanded.
Augustus
94Augustus was the first Roman emperor, the heir of Julius Caesar who ended a century of civil war, established the Roman Empire, and inaugurated the Pax Romana.
Why The founder of the empire whose legacy Trajan was said to have surpassed in virtue.
Marcus Aurelius
90Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, the last of the "Five Good Emperors", whose private journal, the Meditations, is the most cherished work of Stoic thought.
Why A later 'good emperor' in the line of able rulers Trajan helped define.
Constantine the Great
87Constantine the Great was the Roman emperor who became the first to embrace Christianity, ended its persecution, and founded Constantinople as a new capital — decisions that reshaped the Roman world and the future of Europe.
Why Also a emperor & ruler · Active in the same era
Nero
78Nero was the fifth Roman emperor, remembered as a byword for tyranny and excess, whose reign saw the Great Fire of Rome, the persecution of Christians, and a descent into cruelty that ended in his suicide and the fall of his dynasty.
Why Also a emperor & ruler · Active in the same era
Boudicca
80Boudicca was the queen of the Iceni tribe who led a major uprising against Roman rule in Britain around 60–61 CE, sacking Camulodunum, Londinium, and Verulamium before being defeated by the Roman governor Paulinus.
Why Also a military leader & ruler · Active in the same era