Trajan is an underrated emperor. Yes, if you know history, you will know about him, but if you ask people on the street to name a Roman, they will say Julius Caesar.
@@OttomanHistoryHub Perhaps, I know here in Sweden we don't really know about him - but that can probably be due to the fact that we're pretty secular and don't care about religion or history xD
@@HoleintheMeadow loved him and Titus! The mule breeder, came from humble origins was old school Roman and very honorable, never once profited off his positions, he put Rome first, and most importantly he lived after pissing off Nero while nodding off during one of his poet performances. He even escaped Nero’s mothers wrath. Remember he came in right after the year of 4 emperors. I have a way of loving controversial characters in history, Jackson is my favorite President.
In Bulgaria we have a mountain pass called Gate of Trajan where a fortress used to stand to mark out the border between the provinces of Thrace and Macedonia.
Yes, the place is also famous for it was the largest defeat of the Byzantines under Emperor Basil II, who was defeated by the First Bulgarian Empire. Great channel btw. I really enjoyed all the videos from #1. You can do some series on famous Romans during the Republican period too.
You missed perhaps Trajan's most important contribution to Rome and the army. This was his re-organisation of the Legions but most of all it was his instruction that Legionaries were to carry 3 months food supply with them in the form of a mixture of butter, yoghurt, milk and flour, mixed up and dried in the sun and then ground up into a powder so that it could be carried in pouches on the belt. On campaigns, any cook was just ordered to fill the cauldron with water and begin boiling it! Legionaries would all then deposit a small amount of "Trajana" (about a teaspoon full) into the cauldron and then go foraging for soup ingredients and additives such as a wild fowl or herbs or vegetables etc! In this way, the army wasn't bogged down with supplies and utensils. The legionary would carry all that he needed with him.
In Algeria, North Africa, we have a whole city in the south east called Timgad, built under Trajan reign for veterans of war. Thanks for putting him under the light for me, as I never thought I'll be able to find a documentary dedicated just to him.
@@rjjacob101 You unfairly project modern Western sensibilities on Trajan. In antique societies chidren and teenagers where not seen as requiring special protection, at least not once the reached what we would call primary school age 7. Roman girls and boys of lower status would often marry shortly after reaching sexual maturity. In a harsh world with average life expectancies of 33 to 35 years and female fertility ceasing much earlier than nowadays that was sensible. Aristocratic families may take a few years more to arrange a match, because they had much higher life expectancies due to better food, housing, medical care and no manual labour and weren't dependent on large families for economic survival. However, as Romans weren't exactly prudish sexual interactions on all levels of society by both genders started equally early with puberty. Virginity wasn't a requirement for Roman women to marry well, status and financial means were so they did not hold back either. In this context, please be aware that contemporaries did not frown on Trajan for having sex with boys because of the young age of his playmates but because homosexuality was considered an effimate Greek custom (anal sex is called "going Greek" in some countries to this day) unworthy of a true Roman. Why? It could not produce children (Greek customs originated from cities, Roman customs from farming communities). Mind, it was not prohibited but traditional Romans would consider it as a waste of male stamina and seed that would be better invested in "ploughing a female" to impregnate her. Farming values are all about every action serving the objectives of procreation and harvesting after all. Trajan and his wife not having any children of their own after years of marriage would have been especially open to that kind of criticism.
Last summer when I went to southern Turkey I was amazed at the amount of buildings and statues preserved dating back to the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Hadrians gate in Antalya and countless building in Perge and Side were just awe-inspiring to look at. Its truly a miracle that such historical places have survived for almost two-thousand years. The Roman Empire might have died over a thousand years ago, but its legacy still lives on in rural parts of southern Turkey. Great video!
I visited southern Turkey a few years back and it's truly staggering how many archaeological sites there are and how well preserved they are. I remember when I went to Perge I was almost alone there, and when I worked in Lycia we visited many sites that were not open to the public, high up in the mountains - truly spectacular.
Hadrian, Trajan, Constatine, Augustus and Vespasian round out the top 5 best empereror ever. Claudius is underrated also. I'm sure there are others who were good, but I can't think of others.
@@JayCity10 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (/ɔːˈriːliəs/ aw-REE-lee-əs;[2] 26 April 121 - 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors (a term coined some 13 centuries later by Niccolò Machiavelli), and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.
Trajans column even though heavily stylized is my favourite of all sights to see in Rome.The laid out version a cast of the original is available to view in a building near to the column.Fascinating!!😮
I did not know he took half a million Dacians prisoner and enslaved them. If my fellow Romanians would know that, they would not revere him so much. He is considered to be along with Decebalus, the father of the Romanian nation. Some father! who rolled the other father's head on the step of the capitol. Another thing I didn't know was that those people who killed some many Dacians, were put in charge of the province. So they are our forefathers...
All is fake...😢In Dacia ,Trajan can,t takes prisoniers.Why?Becouse getae-dacians preffer to die.They took scytians captured în Sarmizegetusa,who defend the City. Dacia has many big cities in Mountain named DAVES😮(dava=fortress).From the A.D.88 to 106-107 romans fight many battles with scytians,sarmataes and greeks,getae-dacorum în Dobrogea(Moesia minor till Odessa).Roman have many looses,but they bring hundreds tousends soldiers from all empire😅,and conquered City by City a long a period,not after night,with imens losing and suffering wounded and death.😅Deceballus burned all teritories of Moesia inferior and Superior killing all prizoniers of roman(man,woman,children captured în expedițion,Dacian was very cruel with enemies.Deceballus preffers to kill himself,in place of slavery😊(he ,s panishing himself,other taked poison în Sarmiszegetusa(Sarmatae,dava).That,s the true facts .They don,t afraid of death,becouse belive in eternal life.
Wow, talk about leaps and bounds, the quilty of this video is getting quite exceptional. Its almost classic that important emperors like Trajan have some of the worst or few surviving sources.
Thank you! I'm always trying to improve the production with each video, and yeah I really wanted to dig a lot deeper on the Dacian wars, but it's not really possible 😐
Trajan is the most underrated emperor of Rome history, i'd say he was the second best after Augustus. I was looking for some pics with explanation about Trajan column but finally i found something, a bit but it is so good.
@@jameshunk7211I don’t know compared to his adoptive father probably he was a coward but how can you rank him as one of the worst emperors if he is one of the few that managed to die of old age. And that initiated the Pax Romana. Just the fact he reigned for 40+ years make him one of the best because the majority of Roman emperors sucked. The civilization was great but the rulers meh. A lot of emperors were just frontman for pretorians or senators they had 0 real power. And I don’t even like Augustus I wish Anthony had won. But objectively he is at least top 3 and if you’d ask me he is number 1.
Re 14:00. 500.000 Roman pounds of gold is 161.250 kilogram which has a value as per May 2021 of €7,740 American Billion (€7.740.000.000). And then there was the silver in addition to that. In total it was EIGHT thousand million Euros (eight American billion) in total. Even by today's standards, the treasure was gargantuan.
I still hold out hope someone will find a copy of Trajan's personal commentaries on his campaigns... Having his personal record and insight into his campaigns would be incredible and equal with Caesar's own commentaries on his wars.
From where you take the source ?😅And who talks about Deceballus?All the story of dacian war you found în Forum Trajan,s.That story is a Point of view of romans..greeks observers tells us about a looting of Dacians for gold and slaves.Trajan takes gold.Not slaves becouse they run or killed themselves.To the Rome was gladiators tracian(from Bulgaria,today).This tribes surrender in Moesia to Hebrida.See to Vatican Romanae Anales.Dacian are produse people an prefer prefer die not to be enclave.All you said it,s a fake story....sorry.it,s mistification of true history by the intrested person.ahahahahah.!
Hi, for those interested in Traianus' life and history, I recommend the trilogy composed by Los asesinos del emperador (The assassins of the emperor), Circo Máximo (Circus Maximus) and La legión perdida* (The lost legion), by Santiago Posteguillo. Original in Spanish but I guess it must be translated into other languages. They are novels, so there's obviously some fiction but they are extraordinaryly well documented historically. I recommend to read as well all the author's notes, since he explains which are his sources, what parts are definitley fiction, wich ones are not so clear, etc. From the same author I also recommend the trilogy composed by Africanus, el hijo del Cónsul (Africanus, the son of the Consul), Las legiones malditas (The doomed/cursed legions) and La traición de Roma (Rome's treason), about the life of Scipio Africanus, in case you are also interested. And also a bilogy about Julia Domna, contemporary of emperor Comodo: Yo, Julia (I, Julia) and Y Julia retó a los dioses (And Julia challenged the gods). * In The lost legion, using the Trajan's Parthian campaign, the author links with a previous story you may have heard of about a group of surviving Roman prisioners after Crasus' defeat. If you know the story, you know what I'm talking about, in case you don't, I will say no more. This story is not confirmed at all, but there are some clues that may makes us think that there might be some truth in it. I think you won't regret. Enjoy.
I just saw this video, and your post. I'm going to try and find all of these books, preferrably in Dutch, otherwise maybe in English or German. Thank you so much for referring to them :)
Me an Romanian watching this, and thinking hmmmm looks like if this man did not exist my country also would not exist, as everywhere in Romania , almost even the most uneducated person knows that Trajan and Decebal are the founding fathers of Romanian Nation.
Well, my dear, it looks we're having the same problem like Traian's daughter, Drosida/Drusilla, a Beata/Mucenica in the Romanian Orthodox Calendar - all our southern villages named Traian/Troian doesn't seem to matter to anybody, nor the name of the Arges River, the same name of two villages existing in Spain, one in the southern Spain, the other one towards north, close to Las Burebas and so on. Damnatio memorie still works after such a long time, since "there are no sources about Traian", except that one Saint asked God to forgive Traian and the answer was he's forgiven and you stop praying for who's not Christian ( remember that Saint Andrew was the one protected by the dacians almost fifthy years before the arrival of Traian to Dacia). OmG, stuborned corector!
A beautifully produced documentary, excellently researched and presented, one of the best made for this brilliant channel. Thanks a lot for your good work.
I was recently on a historic road trip with my frends to a beautiful medieval city that is very well preserved and maintained - Sighisoara - Romania. On route we found a medieval fortress that was very well renovated. In the gift shop i found the replica of a coin from Trajan's time that is very beautiful. The front of the coin has the head of Trajan and the text: "Imp. Caes. Nevae Traiano Aug. Ger. Dac. P. Miap. Cos. VPP". On the reverse there is an image of a large bridge (presumably the Danube bridge at Drobeta) and the text "SPQR Optimo Pincipe". It is such a beautiful bronze replica that i will treasure it always. After studying it i realised i dont know much about Trajan, except for the Dacian wars, since i am romanian and the dacians were my people. TY for this great doco as it helped me learn more about this great Emperor.
Just wanted to add a bit more detail on Trajan's connection to Titus - his uncle by marriage - Trajan senior was a Tribune of LV based in Xanten - Castra Vetera - when Titus was there as a young man serving under Pliny. Corbulo, Trajan's initial sponsor had been in command before - Trajan senior moved later to Corbulo's new command in the east. It was highly likely that Marcia and the kids were with Trajan senior on base. If so, Titus would have been in their social circle and might have seen a lot of them. Titus was not yet married to Marcia then and I also then wonder if knowing Marcia senior well may have played a part in his later marriage to her younger sister??
There was definitely a close bond between Trajan's family and the Flavians. Little is recorded about Vespasian's reign, but I suspect the elder Trajan likely held a prominent role, given his consulship and two governorships. I feel the younger Trajan's ties were closer to Domitian, who was only two years older than he, rather than Titus. Domitian has been getting a rehabilitation of sorts from modern historians (myself included), and something in his favour has to be how loyal Trajan was to him. After helping put down Saturnius' revolt in Germania, Domitian granted him that rare honour of an "ordinary" consulship lasting an entire year instead of the much shorter suffect term. Three years later it was he who Domitian called upon to restore order in Pannonia when the Marcomanni and Quadi rebelled, aided by their kinsmen across the Danube, and destroying Legio XXI in the process. Trajan marched from Hispania across northern Italia with Legio VII, where he was reinforced by Legio XIV from Germania Superior. Including auxiliaries, he had at least 20,000 soldiers under his command. Given that he was loved by the plebs, senate, and the army, if he had imperial aspirations, he could have easily marched on Rome before or after sorting out Pannonia. He didn't, and even the ever-paranoid Domitian trusted him completely (to be fair, Domitian's paranoia proved well-founded).
Well, as a Romanian, this is a little different version of history. From what I know, Trajan came to Dacia and fought Decebalus for the gold Dacia had in the Carpathian mountains. But I will look into that
He didn’t like hunting. He thought it was an absolute waste of time and (likely) traveled to Greece to grab up Hadrian because he heard he was hunting.
I am from Selinus where he died. Selinus is called Gazipasa in modern day Turkey. I have a good feeling about growing up in a small town that has too many historical ruins from the Roman and Byzantium Empires.
One can say that Decabulus acted treacherously from the beginning and attacked Roman provinces and allies without provocation, bringing his later fate down on his own head and on his nation.
>Super glowing sanitized portrayal of Trajan's campaigning in Dacia for several minutes >12 seconds to say "Oh yeah, the country was utterly destroyed, and half a million people were taken to fight to death or slavery, moving on"
Oversimplified but true and accurate. Good documentary. Nerva adopted Trajan to save himself and hopefully secure his position as Emperior; which thankfully for him it did. Nerva's Authority as Emperior was restored based solely on Trajan's Standing. To Trajan's Credit, he honored the old 'treaties' with Decabalous but he let it be know that this arrrangment will not last as far as decabalous was concerened. Trajan is the Optimis Princeps.
Oh Trajan...I just have to love him because he's the "child" of my bae Nerva (and because he did awsome as emperor). Love, how you bring all the important things up in this relativly short Video. Greetings from Germania superior 😊
Thanks! Yeah, I try to cover all the main things in each Emperor's reign - sometimes that's a 5 min video, in the case of Nerva, or 26 mins in this case :D
@@TheSPQRHistorian Nerva was a real behind the scenes guy - close to Vespasian - it was Nerva who revealed the Pisonian Conspiracy to Nero - he was given a Triumph for this! Also gave Titus the heads up causing Titus to divorce Marcia - her family were deeply implicated. Domitian killing of the Freedman Epaphroditus - Nero's top Freedman- for not stopping Nero from killing himself, he was present at the end - sent a strong message to the Imperial Bureaucracy that even they were not safe and I suspect drove the assassination. Nerva would have known Epaphroditus very well and for many decades
In the Romanian capital of Bucharest exists a cultural institution named Children of Trajan, in which events are spoken in ancient Latin in honor of the famous Roman emperor!
small correction: Trajan was not the first Roman Emperor born outside of italy, Claudius was.. born in Lugdunum, Gaul, modern day France. And yes, Claudius was born of two parents that were born in Rome themselves, he being birthed while his father was stationed in Gaul, doesnt make him a provincial Emperor. BUT he was the first Roman Emperor born outside or modern Italy. Cheers!
This. Trajan too had Roman parents and was of senatorial stock from the gens Ulpia. Even up to the Severans, most emperors had noble Roman blood. Rome wouldn’t see true provincial emperors until the crisis of the third century.
I liked the video. Trajan is one of my favorite emperors. But I had a problem with the background music. The tune was the German National Anthem, once known as Deutschland Uber Alles.
A great emperor by Roman standards, - intelligent,honurable,and a real bonus - sane ( so many emperors weren't). Interesting he seems to e idolised in Romania,which is ironic,considering his wars with the Dacians were tantamount to genocide. Still,a truly formidable man.
He is idolized in Romania because Romania is more Roman than Dacian (the name of the country says it all). Because of Trajan, Romania is what it is today, a country with a language that is the closest grammatically to the Latin language. A huge number of Romans moved to Dacia and settled there (mostly they came from Southern Italy) because the land was very rich in gold. This is why the population turned mostly Roman in the following centuries, and today Romania is the only country East of Italy that is of Roman origin and speaks a Romance language.
@@MiguelAngel-pp5ow thanks for the history lesson,even though I am aware of it. Just interesting having a Roman emperor as a national idol.In that regard,Romania is unique.
Rome also had some fucking terrible leaders. It arguably spent more time under middling or poor leadership than it did under great leadership. It was much more than the leaders that made them last >1000 years
Hello HistoriaMilitum, 🤩, I would like to state that according to me, the column is not the largest edifice raised about the Dacians, maybe not even the fortress of Sarmizegetusa, but the triumphal arch of Constantine the Great erected after the battle of 312 on the Milvius bridge. Then and there the future fate of Christian teachings was decided. In the Ingressus scene when Constantine enters Rome, he is accompanied by the Dacian troops with their wolf banners, troops who fought against the Persians under Galerius, the Roman emperor of Dacian origin. I consider that the arch is an edifice that primarily celebrates their heroism on the Milvius bridge. Kudos to your entire team for the educational information..😘
I know I've watched your stellar videos before, many times in fact, so I'm surprised I wasn't already subscribed! Lol I swear I subbed when I first discovered your channel, very weird. Well I'm here now & doubling down on your brilliant & succinct videos on specific topics. Much love from California,
@ .39 the vid states Trajan was the first Roman emperor not born in Italy. Claudius, however, was the 4th emperor, and he was born in Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France).
Great video, however Trajan was not the first Roman emperor born outside of Italy, Claudius a member of the Julio-Claudians was born in Lugdunum Gaul, which is modern day Lyon in France.
Glad you liked it and you are technially correct, it's a miss phrasing me. Trajan is of provincial origin (even if much of his family was from italy originally). Whereas Claudius was from Rome; both his parents where from Rome and from the imperial family, the only reason he was born there is because is father was campinging in Germany.
@@TheSPQRHistorian in fact Traianus was born in a Turdetanian noble family. Turdetanians were an Iberian people, from the Baetica, and by that time, very romanized (in fact, with Latin/Roman citizeship). He might have some family links with Italic people, but he is considered as Turdetanian originary. In fact, after Dion Casio and Herodiano, he was an _alloethnes_ (a man of another race) and an _externus_ (a foreginer). And that's the difference with Claudius, since the last was born out of Rome/Italy "by accident" (so to say), but he was absolutely from a Roman noble family (the Julio-Claudian dinasty), while Traianus was absolutley non-Italic/Roman originary, and that's why he's considered the first "non-Roman" Roman emperor, if that makes sense. However, back then all the Baetica had the Latin citizenship, and many cities had even the Roman citizenship, so technically you could consider him as a Roman, of course, but you know what I mean. By the way, I am from Sevilla (Hispalis), at roughly 10 km from Itálica (today Santiponce), founded by Scipio Africanus after the Punic War II, where Traianus (and Hadrianus) were born.
@@isihernandez9752 The Ulpii, the family in which Trajan was born in, had its origins in Umbria. So they were an Italic tribe not and Iberian. As Scipio founded the city Italica people from the Italia settled there and the administration was taken care of by noble Italian families (either ordo senatorius or ordo equester). Inscriptions in Umbria are a good evidence for the origin of the Ulpii.
@@isihernandez9752 What a great historical fact. Thank you for sharing this. His family was of ancient Romanized Turdetana lineage, descendant of the Trahii, belonging to the indigenous elites. The father was a Trahius, who could've been later adopted by his father-in-law, an 'Ulpius, but this is openly disputed and there's no strong evidence for it. Anyways the Iberian people Trajan comes from and his native Iberian lineage is highly underrated.
Excellent series! Love the Romans! Thanks for doing it. One thing caught my ear. The music is a variation of Germany's national anthem. Too funny! Salve!
25:12 Is that Deutschlandlied (Deutschland Deustchland Über Alles?) playing in the background? I didn't expect that on a video about Rome. Edit: It's at 9:52 as well.
I'm specifically interested in Hadrian - Antinoos - and the doomed trip down the Nile River. I have a million questions if you need material to research
I’ve totally enjoyed this video and will be a new subscriber after I finish this comment. I did find that I pronounce the words Dacia and Danube quite different than you do but I can possibly dig up the strength to look past that lol.
Great video, and historically comprehensive and accurate. My only criticism would be several words were habitually mispronounced throughout the video (e.g. Danube, Dacia, etc.). This detracts somewhat from the information being presented, but not to a substantive degree. Also, great speaking voice. It reminds me of Jonathan Frakes.
This episode was great! Educated American scholars do make the best reports. Proper annunciation of the English language is imperative. The British, though knowledgeable, always manage the English language. Thanks for a great video.
"If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus"
@@optimvsprinceps1845 I think i prefer Constantine I or Diocletian or Valantinian, but it depend how you rank the emperors, for me i prefer these because the empire was lot more in troubles during their times and managed to hold on while during Trajan times you didnt had much enemies other than Dacia
@@optimvsprinceps1845 I think i prefer Constantine I, Diocletian or Valentinian I, because they managed to hold on the empire while it was in great troubles, while during Trajan you didnt have much enemies other than Dacia and Parrthians, but its my pov only, Trajan is still awesome but it depend on how you decide what achievements is the biggest between conquering during golden age and hold one during very bad times, or win civil war over conquering another country, its up to you and me =) (i dont say you are wrong just my pov)
First hispanic emperor :) "Spain, evangelizer of the middle of the world; Spain hammer of heretics, light of Trent, sword of Rome, cradle of Saint Ignatius; that is our greatness and our unity; we have no other."
I have a question, why is Trajan considered the first emperor born outside Italy? I ask because I thought Claudius was born somewhere in modern France.
I think it's because Claudius was with his parents on campaign (his father was the noble Drusus, after all) rather than his family living outside of Italy on a fixed basis. As a later emperor with a particular affection for Claudius' birthplace later said, *Where the standard is, there the homeland is too*. Claudius was born in Lugdunum (Lyon). One of my favourite cities, and known as "the capital of Gaul" ;) 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
He's not the first born outside Italy, he is the first non-Italic. I think some people misunderstand that. He was born in Italica* in a Turdetanian noble family, an Iberian people from the Baetica, very romanized and with Latin/Roman citizenship back then. *No, Italica is not in Italy, it's a town founded by Scipio Africanus after the second punic war in the Baetica, called today Santiponce very close (10 km or so) to Hispalis (today Sevilla), Andalusia. Claudius was born in Lugdunum (Lyon) "by accident" (so to say), his parents were there since his father was in campaign, but he was absolutely from a noble Roman family (the Julio-Claudian dinasty).
@@isihernandez9752 Trajans ancestors (the Ulpii) were originally from Umbria. Italica was founded by Scipio and its citizens were mostly Roman citizens from Italy, thats why it was called Italica. The administration was led by noble Roman families not by Iberians. One of these families were the Traii or Trahii - one Marcus Trahius was a member of the city council during the 1st century BC. The cognomen Traianus was deduced from the word "Traii".
@@TheTrajanator first about Itálica: yes, I know it was founded by Scipio after the second punic war, and many of his veterans got lands there, and I know why it's called like that. I know quite well Itálica... I'm born and raised in Sevilla (Hispalis), at roughly 10 km from there. But it doesn't mean it was populated "mostly" by Italic people. There was a highly mixed population: many of those veterans got Iberian wives and communication with nearby Iberian cities was way easier than with "the far" Italy. They weren't an isolated colony, people moved and mixed by the "neighborhood" and it was a natural thing. Second, the Trahii (or Traii) were a Turdetanian noble family, not Roman, who was related (mixed) with the Ulpii. The Baetica was a highly romanized province, probably the most of all outside Italy in the whole empire (or republic). In fact, cities from the Baetica were the first in getting the Italic (first) and Roman (later) citizenship outside Italy, starting with Carteia (by the Algeciras bay). So, it wasn't strange at all that noble families (as well as commoners) were mixed. In fact, marriages have always been used with a political purpouse as a way of setting alliances and asuring loyalties. By the time of Traianus, Itálica population was legally "Roman" (except slaves and foreginers, obviously), wich doesn't mean they were necesarilly of Italic ethnicity. And it wasn't an issue to get positions of responsability and relevance (up to a certain point) for instance, Traianus father (of the same name) was a legatus under Vespasianus and Titus command in the Jews revolts and the siege of Jerusalem. But it would have been unthinkable that a non-Roman would become the emperor if it wasn't for the political instability that led to Domitianus killing, and the weakness of Nerva vs the pretorians, who "forced" him to adopt a highly respected general and senator as his heir, Traianus. According to Dion Casio and Herodianus, Traianus was an "alloethnes" (a person of another race/ethnicity) and an "externus" (a foreginer). It would have been pretty weird to be considered like that being of a fully Italic family, instead of an Iberian one (although related in some degree with an Italic one).
Trajan is an underrated emperor. Yes, if you know history, you will know about him, but if you ask people on the street to name a Roman, they will say Julius Caesar.
Yeah I know what you mean, they generally know of Julius Caesar and perhaps Nero
@@TheSPQRHistorian Maybe even Constantine the Great for his religious revolution too
@@OttomanHistoryHub Perhaps, I know here in Sweden we don't really know about him - but that can probably be due to the fact that we're pretty secular and don't care about religion or history xD
They'll probably say Augustus as well.
The Romans were getting it right until they started the whole blood birthright nonsense thing again and they ended up with that idiot Commodos.
OPTIMVS PRINCEPS! The ONLY Roman emperor mentioned in the same breath as Augustus by the Roman people. Hail Trajan!
Trajan is the GOAT.
@@HoleintheMeadow Vespasian
@@num1sooner Vespasian is better than Trajan? I mean, Theodosius or Justinian I could see arguments for. Even Constantine or Claudius. But Vespasian?
@@HoleintheMeadow loved him and Titus! The mule breeder, came from humble origins was old school Roman and very honorable, never once profited off his positions, he put Rome first, and most importantly he lived after pissing off Nero while nodding off during one of his poet performances. He even escaped Nero’s mothers wrath. Remember he came in right after the year of 4 emperors. I have a way of loving controversial characters in history, Jackson is my favorite President.
This comment and this thread is pretty darn Nice !
In Bulgaria we have a mountain pass called Gate of Trajan where a fortress used to stand to mark out the border between the provinces of Thrace and Macedonia.
A leech that grows on walls indeed 😄
ayyyy Траянови врата
Yes, the place is also famous for it was the largest defeat of the Byzantines under Emperor Basil II, who was defeated by the First Bulgarian Empire.
Great channel btw. I really enjoyed all the videos from #1. You can do some series on famous Romans during the Republican period too.
Bul sh
@@TheSPQRHistorian what do you mean ?
You missed perhaps Trajan's most important contribution to Rome and the army. This was his re-organisation of the Legions but most of all it was his instruction that Legionaries were to carry 3 months food supply with them in the form of a mixture of butter, yoghurt, milk and flour, mixed up and dried in the sun and then ground up into a powder so that it could be carried in pouches on the belt.
On campaigns, any cook was just ordered to fill the cauldron with water and begin boiling it! Legionaries would all then deposit a small amount of "Trajana" (about a teaspoon full) into the cauldron and then go foraging for soup ingredients and additives such as a wild fowl or herbs or vegetables etc! In this way, the army wasn't bogged down with supplies and utensils. The legionary would carry all that he needed with him.
In Algeria, North Africa, we have a whole city in the south east called Timgad, built under Trajan reign for veterans of war. Thanks for putting him under the light for me, as I never thought I'll be able to find a documentary dedicated just to him.
I hope Algeria and other parts of North Africa will work to recover their Classical Greek and Roman history/culture.
That's so fkin awesome. I'd be so proud to live in that city.
The movie 'Legend of the Lost" 1957 was filmed and centred arouind that city.Look it up.
@@johnellis5865 nope, North Africa got rid of the Roman colonizers 1400 years ago, good riddance 😂
Trajan's forum was magnificent. I'm so sad about how little of it is left in Rome. Those 19 years were truly the best times to be alive in the empire.
Yeah, It would have been amazing to see Trajans forum when it was still intact
LOL best time to be alive unless you were a young boy XD
@@rjjacob101 You unfairly project modern Western sensibilities on Trajan. In antique societies chidren and teenagers where not seen as requiring special protection, at least not once the reached what we would call primary school age 7. Roman girls and boys of lower status would often marry shortly after reaching sexual maturity. In a harsh world with average life expectancies of 33 to 35 years and female fertility ceasing much earlier than nowadays that was sensible. Aristocratic families may take a few years more to arrange a match, because they had much higher life expectancies due to better food, housing, medical care and no manual labour and weren't dependent on large families for economic survival. However, as Romans weren't exactly prudish sexual interactions on all levels of society by both genders started equally early with puberty. Virginity wasn't a requirement for Roman women to marry well, status and financial means were so they did not hold back either. In this context, please be aware that contemporaries did not frown on Trajan for having sex with boys because of the young age of his playmates but because homosexuality was considered an effimate Greek custom (anal sex is called "going Greek" in some countries to this day) unworthy of a true Roman. Why? It could not produce children (Greek customs originated from cities, Roman customs from farming communities). Mind, it was not prohibited but traditional Romans would consider it as a waste of male stamina and seed that would be better invested in "ploughing a female" to impregnate her. Farming values are all about every action serving the objectives of procreation and harvesting after all. Trajan and his wife not having any children of their own after years of marriage would have been especially open to that kind of criticism.
@@privatesmith1560 He was joking
Last summer when I went to southern Turkey I was amazed at the amount of buildings and statues preserved dating back to the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Hadrians gate in Antalya and countless building in Perge and Side were just awe-inspiring to look at. Its truly a miracle that such historical places have survived for almost two-thousand years.
The Roman Empire might have died over a thousand years ago, but its legacy still lives on in rural parts of southern Turkey. Great video!
I visited southern Turkey a few years back and it's truly staggering how many archaeological sites there are and how well preserved they are. I remember when I went to Perge I was almost alone there, and when I worked in Lycia we visited many sites that were not open to the public, high up in the mountains - truly spectacular.
Hadrian, Trajan, Constatine, Augustus and Vespasian round out the top 5 best empereror
ever. Claudius is underrated also. I'm sure there are others who were good, but I can't think of others.
It died less than 600 years ago.
Constantinople, 1453
@@JayCity10 best emperor is no emperor. Rome was a republic and they degraded it.
@@JayCity10
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (/ɔːˈriːliəs/ aw-REE-lee-əs;[2] 26 April 121 - 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors (a term coined some 13 centuries later by Niccolò Machiavelli), and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.
Trajans column even though heavily stylized is my favourite of all sights to see in Rome.The laid out version a cast of the original is available to view in a building near to the column.Fascinating!!😮
He was the Man. The only emperor who was going faster than Rome itself.
Bro I've been waiting for this episode since the first video about Augustus. So hyped
Yeah me to! Ive been working on this video for a long time 😅
Optimus princeps la sua gloria vivrà per sempre
@Realpeopleneverpost lol why, all we know about him is his greatness
I did not know he took half a million Dacians prisoner and enslaved them. If my fellow Romanians would know that, they would not revere him so much. He is considered to be along with Decebalus, the father of the Romanian nation. Some father! who rolled the other father's head on the step of the capitol. Another thing I didn't know was that those people who killed some many Dacians, were put in charge of the province. So they are our forefathers...
All is fake...😢In Dacia ,Trajan can,t takes prisoniers.Why?Becouse getae-dacians preffer to die.They took scytians captured în Sarmizegetusa,who defend the City. Dacia has many big cities in Mountain named DAVES😮(dava=fortress).From the A.D.88 to 106-107 romans fight many battles with scytians,sarmataes and greeks,getae-dacorum în Dobrogea(Moesia minor till Odessa).Roman have many looses,but they bring hundreds tousends soldiers from all empire😅,and conquered City by City a long a period,not after night,with imens losing and suffering wounded and death.😅Deceballus burned all teritories of Moesia inferior and Superior killing all prizoniers of roman(man,woman,children captured în expedițion,Dacian was very cruel with enemies.Deceballus preffers to kill himself,in place of slavery😊(he ,s panishing himself,other taked poison în Sarmiszegetusa(Sarmatae,dava).That,s the true facts .They don,t afraid of death,becouse belive in eternal life.
Wow, talk about leaps and bounds, the quilty of this video is getting quite exceptional. Its almost classic that important emperors like Trajan have some of the worst or few surviving sources.
Thank you! I'm always trying to improve the production with each video, and yeah I really wanted to dig a lot deeper on the Dacian wars, but it's not really possible 😐
@@TheSPQRHistorianYou can only work with what's available. If the only info that has come down to us is limited what can you Do??he shrugs!
How long do i have to wait for Aurelian episode?🤣🤣 let's say 5 years from now
It might be a while 😂 But I think many of the 3rd century Emperors will be a bit shorter videos - short reigns and poor sources.
Vengo del futuro, se tardó 3 años😅
Trajan is the most underrated emperor of Rome history, i'd say he was the second best after Augustus. I was looking for some pics with explanation about Trajan column but finally i found something, a bit but it is so good.
Augustus was among the worst Emperor in roman empire. A coward who brought bunch of crazies as successor.
@@jameshunk7211 hahaha ur such a Clown
@@jameshunk7211 cap Augustus is big daddy numero uno
Read Trajans 3 novels by Santiago posteguillos, incredible work
@@jameshunk7211I don’t know compared to his adoptive father probably he was a coward but how can you rank him as one of the worst emperors if he is one of the few that managed to die of old age. And that initiated the Pax Romana. Just the fact he reigned for 40+ years make him one of the best because the majority of Roman emperors sucked. The civilization was great but the rulers meh. A lot of emperors were just frontman for pretorians or senators they had 0 real power. And I don’t even like Augustus I wish Anthony had won. But objectively he is at least top 3 and if you’d ask me he is number 1.
Friendship ended with Augustus, now Marcus Ulpius Traianus is my new best friend.
Ave'
Re 14:00. 500.000 Roman pounds of gold is 161.250 kilogram which has a value as per May 2021 of €7,740 American Billion (€7.740.000.000). And then there was the silver in addition to that. In total it was EIGHT thousand million Euros (eight American billion) in total. Even by today's standards, the treasure was gargantuan.
I still hold out hope someone will find a copy of Trajan's personal commentaries on his campaigns... Having his personal record and insight into his campaigns would be incredible and equal with Caesar's own commentaries on his wars.
That would be a fantastic source - lets hope!
From where you take the source ?😅And who talks about Deceballus?All the story of dacian war you found în Forum Trajan,s.That story is a Point of view of romans..greeks observers tells us about a looting of Dacians for gold and slaves.Trajan takes gold.Not slaves becouse they run or killed themselves.To the Rome was gladiators tracian(from Bulgaria,today).This tribes surrender in Moesia to Hebrida.See to Vatican Romanae Anales.Dacian are produse people an prefer prefer die not to be enclave.All you said it,s a fake story....sorry.it,s mistification of true history by the intrested person.ahahahahah.!
What a great leader Trajan was
Yeah he really was one of the greats
They were borth en the land of machos Spain glorious Emperadors
The best birthday gift i could ask for! Thank you for this amazing documentary about Rome's best Emperor! :)
Happy Birthday Noah! Hope you have a great day and enjoy the video 😉
Hi, for those interested in Traianus' life and history, I recommend the trilogy composed by Los asesinos del emperador (The assassins of the emperor), Circo Máximo (Circus Maximus) and La legión perdida* (The lost legion), by Santiago Posteguillo. Original in Spanish but I guess it must be translated into other languages.
They are novels, so there's obviously some fiction but they are extraordinaryly well documented historically. I recommend to read as well all the author's notes, since he explains which are his sources, what parts are definitley fiction, wich ones are not so clear, etc.
From the same author I also recommend the trilogy composed by Africanus, el hijo del Cónsul (Africanus, the son of the Consul), Las legiones malditas (The doomed/cursed legions) and La traición de Roma (Rome's treason), about the life of Scipio Africanus, in case you are also interested.
And also a bilogy about Julia Domna, contemporary of emperor Comodo: Yo, Julia (I, Julia) and Y Julia retó a los dioses (And Julia challenged the gods).
* In The lost legion, using the Trajan's Parthian campaign, the author links with a previous story you may have heard of about a group of surviving Roman prisioners after Crasus' defeat. If you know the story, you know what I'm talking about, in case you don't, I will say no more. This story is not confirmed at all, but there are some clues that may makes us think that there might be some truth in it.
I think you won't regret. Enjoy.
I just saw this video, and your post. I'm going to try and find all of these books, preferrably in Dutch, otherwise maybe in English or German. Thank you so much for referring to them :)
Me an Romanian watching this, and thinking hmmmm looks like if this man did not exist my country also would not exist, as everywhere in Romania , almost even the most uneducated person knows that Trajan and Decebal are the founding fathers of Romanian Nation.
That's incredibly ironic I love it
I think Trajan’s name is even in your anthem.
Traiano Pater Patriae
Well, my dear, it looks we're having the same problem like Traian's daughter, Drosida/Drusilla, a Beata/Mucenica in the Romanian Orthodox Calendar - all our southern villages named Traian/Troian doesn't seem to matter to anybody, nor the name of the Arges River, the same name of two villages existing in Spain, one in the southern Spain, the other one towards north, close to Las Burebas and so on. Damnatio memorie still works after such a long time, since "there are no sources about Traian", except that one Saint asked God to forgive Traian and the answer was he's forgiven and you stop praying for who's not Christian ( remember that Saint Andrew was the one protected by the dacians almost fifthy years before the arrival of Traian to Dacia).
OmG, stuborned corector!
Salut! And Romania is the only standing nation that uses the highest percentage of Latin in all of Europe, greetings from Puebla, Mexico!!
Aurelian was a very good Emperor too :) He restaured Rome in a huge crysis. :)
Small fact: though Trajan was indeed the first non-Italian Emperor, he was not the first born outside Italy. Claudius was born in Lugdunum, in Gaul
Correct
The Ulpii respectively Trajans ancestors were from Italia.
@@TheTrajanator Claudius ancestors were from Italy as well.
Trajan ancestors were from Iberia so there's a slight difference
claudio part of claudio giulia dinasty they was all born in italy from cesar to nero.
A beautifully produced documentary, excellently researched and presented, one of the best made for this brilliant channel. Thanks a lot for your good work.
I was recently on a historic road trip with my frends to a beautiful medieval city that is very well preserved and maintained - Sighisoara - Romania. On route we found a medieval fortress that was very well renovated. In the gift shop i found the replica of a coin from Trajan's time that is very beautiful.
The front of the coin has the head of Trajan and the text: "Imp. Caes. Nevae Traiano Aug. Ger. Dac. P. Miap. Cos. VPP". On the reverse there is an image of a large bridge (presumably the Danube bridge at Drobeta) and the text "SPQR Optimo Pincipe". It is such a beautiful bronze replica that i will treasure it always. After studying it i realised i dont know much about Trajan, except for the Dacian wars, since i am romanian and the dacians were my people.
TY for this great doco as it helped me learn more about this great Emperor.
Just wanted to add a bit more detail on Trajan's connection to Titus - his uncle by marriage - Trajan senior was a Tribune of LV based in Xanten - Castra Vetera - when Titus was there as a young man serving under Pliny. Corbulo, Trajan's initial sponsor had been in command before - Trajan senior moved later to Corbulo's new command in the east. It was highly likely that Marcia and the kids were with Trajan senior on base. If so, Titus would have been in their social circle and might have seen a lot of them. Titus was not yet married to Marcia then and I also then wonder if knowing Marcia senior well may have played a part in his later marriage to her younger sister??
There was definitely a close bond between Trajan's family and the Flavians. Little is recorded about Vespasian's reign, but I suspect the elder Trajan likely held a prominent role, given his consulship and two governorships. I feel the younger Trajan's ties were closer to Domitian, who was only two years older than he, rather than Titus. Domitian has been getting a rehabilitation of sorts from modern historians (myself included), and something in his favour has to be how loyal Trajan was to him. After helping put down Saturnius' revolt in Germania, Domitian granted him that rare honour of an "ordinary" consulship lasting an entire year instead of the much shorter suffect term. Three years later it was he who Domitian called upon to restore order in Pannonia when the Marcomanni and Quadi rebelled, aided by their kinsmen across the Danube, and destroying Legio XXI in the process. Trajan marched from Hispania across northern Italia with Legio VII, where he was reinforced by Legio XIV from Germania Superior. Including auxiliaries, he had at least 20,000 soldiers under his command. Given that he was loved by the plebs, senate, and the army, if he had imperial aspirations, he could have easily marched on Rome before or after sorting out Pannonia. He didn't, and even the ever-paranoid Domitian trusted him completely (to be fair, Domitian's paranoia proved well-founded).
Excellent! I love ancient Rome history and this channel is amazing!
Thank you 😀
One of the founding fathers of Romania. All hail Trajan!
Hail Divus Trajan!
Trajan is Spanish,saludos desde España🇪🇸
@@die2006 so was Hadrian.
Rofl.
@@c.8276 ?
Well, as a Romanian, this is a little different version of history. From what I know, Trajan came to Dacia and fought Decebalus for the gold Dacia had in the Carpathian mountains. But I will look into that
He was an incredible emperor just behind Aurelian
BEST COMMENT OF ALL TIME. NO ONE CAN COMPARE TO AURELIAN AND GERMANICUS. germanicus may had been jesus.
If I had an opportunity to make a wish to change history, it would for Germanicus to become the roman emperor
@@onceforthrfact8499 We would be speaking latin today if Aurelian lived longer and Germanicus was ever emperor, so sad.
Constantine
Aurelian was the greatest Emperor Rome had. He was a God, he was Sol Invictus.
omg, please tell me you're going to continue this series?? I need Hadrian!!!
Yeah Im working on Hadrian atm, its gonna be a long video... 😉
He didn’t like hunting. He thought it was an absolute waste of time and (likely) traveled to Greece to grab up Hadrian because he heard he was hunting.
Don't forget about Augustus who ushered in the Pax Romana and is considered the most effective leader in human history.
25:45 music for Austrian Kaisers used for Roman Caesars, I can dig it
I am from Selinus where he died. Selinus is called Gazipasa in modern day Turkey. I have a good feeling about growing up in a small town that has too many historical ruins from the Roman and Byzantium Empires.
One can say that Decabulus acted treacherously from the beginning and attacked Roman provinces and allies without provocation, bringing his later fate down on his own head and on his nation.
Damn your channel deserve more.
>Super glowing sanitized portrayal of Trajan's campaigning in Dacia for several minutes
>12 seconds to say "Oh yeah, the country was utterly destroyed, and half a million people were taken to fight to death or slavery, moving on"
Great content! I hope you will get much more views soon!
Thank You!
Oversimplified but true and accurate. Good documentary. Nerva adopted Trajan to save himself and hopefully secure his position as Emperior; which thankfully for him it did. Nerva's Authority as Emperior was restored based solely on Trajan's Standing. To Trajan's Credit, he honored the old 'treaties' with Decabalous but he let it be know that this arrrangment will not last as far as decabalous was concerened. Trajan is the Optimis Princeps.
Love this guy!
Yeah Trajan is a pretty lovely guy :D
Oh Trajan...I just have to love him because he's the "child" of my bae Nerva (and because he did awsome as emperor).
Love, how you bring all the important things up in this relativly short Video.
Greetings from Germania superior 😊
Thanks! Yeah, I try to cover all the main things in each Emperor's reign - sometimes that's a 5 min video, in the case of Nerva, or 26 mins in this case :D
@@TheSPQRHistorian Nerva was a real behind the scenes guy - close to Vespasian - it was Nerva who revealed the Pisonian Conspiracy to Nero - he was given a Triumph for this! Also gave Titus the heads up causing Titus to divorce Marcia - her family were deeply implicated. Domitian killing of the Freedman Epaphroditus - Nero's top Freedman- for not stopping Nero from killing himself, he was present at the end - sent a strong message to the Imperial Bureaucracy that even they were not safe and I suspect drove the assassination. Nerva would have known Epaphroditus very well and for many decades
🦅⚡🤴🗡🏰🏛Emperor Trajan is my fav Roman Emperors ⚔🛡🤺🏇🐎👑🏹 i obviously subbed
In the Romanian capital of Bucharest exists a cultural institution named Children of Trajan, in which events are spoken in ancient Latin in honor of the famous Roman emperor!
The presentation and effects are terrific.
small correction: Trajan was not the first Roman Emperor born outside of italy, Claudius was.. born in Lugdunum, Gaul, modern day France. And yes, Claudius was born of two parents that were born in Rome themselves, he being birthed while his father was stationed in Gaul, doesnt make him a provincial Emperor. BUT he was the first Roman Emperor born outside or modern Italy. Cheers!
This. Trajan too had Roman parents and was of senatorial stock from the gens Ulpia. Even up to the Severans, most emperors had noble Roman blood. Rome wouldn’t see true provincial emperors until the crisis of the third century.
Wow, this was an amazing video! You've got yourself a new subscriber and I will add your series to my 'must watch' list.
Thanks Robin!
0:35 Trajan is not the first roman emperor born outside Italy. Claudius was born in Lugdunum (Lyon, France).
I liked the video. Trajan is one of my favorite emperors. But I had a problem with the background music. The tune was the German National Anthem, once known as Deutschland Uber Alles.
Love your videos. Keep it up man
Thanks Ben! Will do! 🙏
A great emperor by Roman standards, - intelligent,honurable,and a real bonus - sane ( so many emperors weren't).
Interesting he seems to e idolised in Romania,which is ironic,considering his wars with the Dacians were tantamount to genocide.
Still,a truly formidable man.
He is idolized in Romania because Romania is more Roman than Dacian (the name of the country says it all). Because of Trajan, Romania is what it is today, a country with a language that is the closest grammatically to the Latin language.
A huge number of Romans moved to Dacia and settled there (mostly they came from Southern Italy) because the land was very rich in gold. This is why the population turned mostly Roman in the following centuries, and today Romania is the only country East of Italy that is of Roman origin and speaks a Romance language.
@@MiguelAngel-pp5ow thanks for the history lesson,even though I am aware of it.
Just interesting having a Roman emperor as a national idol.In that regard,Romania is unique.
Amazing documentary, amazing editing and commentary, amazing channel overall. Thank you so much Sir!
Los emperadores Trajano y Adriano eran de Itálica, Sevilla España, cuna del segundo imperio español
Proud of being born in the same territory as him
The greatest Emperor of all time.
Rome had such great leaders. No wonder why they lasted so long.
Ave roma un romanum.
Rome also had some fucking terrible leaders. It arguably spent more time under middling or poor leadership than it did under great leadership. It was much more than the leaders that made them last >1000 years
Hello HistoriaMilitum, 🤩, I would like to state that according to me, the column is not the largest edifice raised about the Dacians, maybe not even the fortress of Sarmizegetusa, but the triumphal arch of Constantine the Great erected after the battle of 312 on the Milvius bridge. Then and there the future fate of Christian teachings was decided. In the Ingressus scene when Constantine enters Rome, he is accompanied by the Dacian troops with their wolf banners, troops who fought against the Persians under Galerius, the Roman emperor of Dacian origin. I consider that the arch is an edifice that primarily celebrates their heroism on the Milvius bridge. Kudos to your entire team for the educational information..😘
My favourite duo> Trajan and Aurelian
Excellent!!! Thank You!!!
IT was under Trajan that the first fund for widows and orphans was ever established.
Never implemented, though...
I know I've watched your stellar videos before, many times in fact, so I'm surprised I wasn't already subscribed! Lol I swear I subbed when I first discovered your channel, very weird. Well I'm here now & doubling down on your brilliant & succinct videos on specific topics. Much love from California,
will name a son after Trajan best emperor in my opinion
EMPEROR TRAJAN WAS FROM SPAIN!? 😍
Si
Yup from italica, the actual Sevilla
No. Spain didn't exist.
Great work man
@ .39 the vid states Trajan was the first Roman emperor not born in Italy. Claudius, however, was the 4th emperor, and he was born in Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France).
Superb video.
My jaw falls open at his crazy mispronunciation.
Like " LeGate" of the legion
Great video, however Trajan was not the first Roman emperor born outside of Italy, Claudius a member of the Julio-Claudians was born in Lugdunum Gaul, which is modern day Lyon in France.
Glad you liked it and you are technially correct, it's a miss phrasing me. Trajan is of provincial origin (even if much of his family was from italy originally). Whereas Claudius was from Rome; both his parents where from Rome and from the imperial family, the only reason he was born there is because is father was campinging in Germany.
@@TheSPQRHistorian in fact Traianus was born in a Turdetanian noble family. Turdetanians were an Iberian people, from the Baetica, and by that time, very romanized (in fact, with Latin/Roman citizeship). He might have some family links with Italic people, but he is considered as Turdetanian originary. In fact, after Dion Casio and Herodiano, he was an _alloethnes_ (a man of another race) and an _externus_ (a foreginer).
And that's the difference with Claudius, since the last was born out of Rome/Italy "by accident" (so to say), but he was absolutely from a Roman noble family (the Julio-Claudian dinasty), while Traianus was absolutley non-Italic/Roman originary, and that's why he's considered the first "non-Roman" Roman emperor, if that makes sense. However, back then all the Baetica had the Latin citizenship, and many cities had even the Roman citizenship, so technically you could consider him as a Roman, of course, but you know what I mean.
By the way, I am from Sevilla (Hispalis), at roughly 10 km from Itálica (today Santiponce), founded by Scipio Africanus after the Punic War II, where Traianus (and Hadrianus) were born.
@@isihernandez9752 The Ulpii, the family in which Trajan was born in, had its origins in Umbria. So they were an Italic tribe not and Iberian. As Scipio founded the city Italica people from the Italia settled there and the administration was taken care of by noble Italian families (either ordo senatorius or ordo equester). Inscriptions in Umbria are a good evidence for the origin of the Ulpii.
@@isihernandez9752
What a great historical fact. Thank you for sharing this. His family was of ancient Romanized Turdetana lineage, descendant of the Trahii, belonging to the indigenous elites. The father was a Trahius, who could've been later adopted by his father-in-law, an 'Ulpius, but this is openly disputed and there's no strong evidence for it.
Anyways the Iberian people Trajan comes from and his native Iberian lineage is highly underrated.
Septimius Severus expanded the empire to its greatest extent, and like Trajan most of their resent conquests were lost after they died.
Bingo
10:10 i was watching the video when i suddenly heard my national hymne lmao haha.. greetings .. a german :D
Excellent series! Love the Romans! Thanks for doing it. One thing caught my ear. The music is a variation of Germany's national anthem. Too funny! Salve!
I love this narrator. Who is he? Have him on more often. Also love the soundtrack in this video.
25:12 Is that Deutschlandlied (Deutschland Deustchland Über Alles?) playing in the background? I didn't expect that on a video about Rome.
Edit: It's at 9:52 as well.
These are the best videos! Thank you!
Очень толковое повествование,пожалуй лучшее на ютуб что я видел.Ты молодец.
I'm specifically interested in Hadrian - Antinoos - and the doomed trip down the Nile River.
I have a million questions if you need material to research
I’ve totally enjoyed this video and will be a new subscriber after I finish this comment. I did find that I pronounce the words Dacia and Danube quite different than you do but I can possibly dig up the strength to look past that lol.
Please do more of these they are amazing so much information
Another great video! Can’t wait for u to do Caracella!!!
Thanks brandbw! 🙌👏
Really good. Can you guys do Hadrian next?
Thanks Frank!
I'm working on Hadrian script atm :)
@@TheSPQRHistorianNice.
Great video, and historically comprehensive and accurate. My only criticism would be several words were habitually mispronounced throughout the video (e.g. Danube, Dacia, etc.). This detracts somewhat from the information being presented, but not to a substantive degree. Also, great speaking voice. It reminds me of Jonathan Frakes.
Thanks for the feedback Jordan!
This episode was great! Educated American scholars do make the best reports. Proper annunciation of the English language is imperative. The British, though knowledgeable, always manage the English language. Thanks for a great video.
I think you mean "mangled" and not manage? Imagine throwing shade and butchering the words you're trying to fucking say 😂😂
5 good Emperors built Roman peak.
AURELIAN RESTORED IT
Restitutor Orbis
Claudius was born in Italy ? That's super exicting and groundbreaking news :D
There's is only one Optimus Princeps and it was Trajan. Not Augustus. Sorry.
Well, at least he pronounced Trajan's name correctly
Thats debatable
As opposed to Danube and Dacia.
He didn’t. It’s pronounced as in today’s Romanian.
One of the greatest
"If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus"
@@TheSPQRHistorian Yeah, i agree, but i think i prefer the periode during Anastasius I, i think this periode in the East was also very prosperous
THE Greatest imo
@@optimvsprinceps1845 I think i prefer Constantine I or Diocletian or Valantinian, but it depend how you rank the emperors, for me i prefer these because the empire was lot more in troubles during their times and managed to hold on while during Trajan times you didnt had much enemies other than Dacia
@@optimvsprinceps1845 I think i prefer Constantine I, Diocletian or Valentinian I, because they managed to hold on the empire while it was in great troubles, while during Trajan you didnt have much enemies other than Dacia and Parrthians, but its my pov only, Trajan is still awesome but it depend on how you decide what achievements is the biggest between conquering during golden age and hold one during very bad times, or win civil war over conquering another country, its up to you and me =) (i dont say you are wrong just my pov)
Boys and wine and war. Sounds like an someone from the Epsruen client list.
Ave Divus Traianus!
The narrator sounds a LOT like Jonathan Frakes (Commander William T. Riker, from Star Trek The Next Generation).
First hispanic emperor :) "Spain, evangelizer of the middle of the world; Spain hammer of heretics, light of Trent, sword of Rome, cradle of Saint Ignatius; that is our greatness and our unity; we have no other."
very good video and most informative
Great vid. Well put togethor. Thanks for the content.
10:37 lol, why do I hear the German anthem on a Roman victory?
I see a video about a Roman Emperor
I Like
I see a channel all about the Roman History
I subscribe
Nice to see how the Dutch already drained Flevoland in Trajan's time...
Maybe they were "Dutch-ians" too. :)
Great video series....
Dacia was what we know today as Romania , which was conquered by Emperor Trajan ...
I'm glad I picked him for my Roman emperor person thing
I have a question, why is Trajan considered the first emperor born outside Italy? I ask because I thought Claudius was born somewhere in modern France.
I think it's because Claudius was with his parents on campaign (his father was the noble Drusus, after all) rather than his family living outside of Italy on a fixed basis. As a later emperor with a particular affection for Claudius' birthplace later said, *Where the standard is, there the homeland is too*.
Claudius was born in Lugdunum (Lyon). One of my favourite cities, and known as "the capital of Gaul" ;)
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He's not the first born outside Italy, he is the first non-Italic. I think some people misunderstand that. He was born in Italica* in a Turdetanian noble family, an Iberian people from the Baetica, very romanized and with Latin/Roman citizenship back then.
*No, Italica is not in Italy, it's a town founded by Scipio Africanus after the second punic war in the Baetica, called today Santiponce very close (10 km or so) to Hispalis (today Sevilla), Andalusia.
Claudius was born in Lugdunum (Lyon) "by accident" (so to say), his parents were there since his father was in campaign, but he was absolutely from a noble Roman family (the Julio-Claudian dinasty).
@@isihernandez9752 thank you for the response
@@isihernandez9752 Trajans ancestors (the Ulpii) were originally from Umbria. Italica was founded by Scipio and its citizens were mostly Roman citizens from Italy, thats why it was called Italica. The administration was led by noble Roman families not by Iberians. One of these families were the Traii or Trahii - one Marcus Trahius was a member of the city council during the 1st century BC. The cognomen Traianus was deduced from the word "Traii".
@@TheTrajanator first about Itálica: yes, I know it was founded by Scipio after the second punic war, and many of his veterans got lands there, and I know why it's called like that. I know quite well Itálica... I'm born and raised in Sevilla (Hispalis), at roughly 10 km from there. But it doesn't mean it was populated "mostly" by Italic people. There was a highly mixed population: many of those veterans got Iberian wives and communication with nearby Iberian cities was way easier than with "the far" Italy. They weren't an isolated colony, people moved and mixed by the "neighborhood" and it was a natural thing.
Second, the Trahii (or Traii) were a Turdetanian noble family, not Roman, who was related (mixed) with the Ulpii. The Baetica was a highly romanized province, probably the most of all outside Italy in the whole empire (or republic). In fact, cities from the Baetica were the first in getting the Italic (first) and Roman (later) citizenship outside Italy, starting with Carteia (by the Algeciras bay). So, it wasn't strange at all that noble families (as well as commoners) were mixed. In fact, marriages have always been used with a political purpouse as a way of setting alliances and asuring loyalties. By the time of Traianus, Itálica population was legally "Roman" (except slaves and foreginers, obviously), wich doesn't mean they were necesarilly of Italic ethnicity. And it wasn't an issue to get positions of responsability and relevance (up to a certain point) for instance, Traianus father (of the same name) was a legatus under Vespasianus and Titus command in the Jews revolts and the siege of Jerusalem. But it would have been unthinkable that a non-Roman would become the emperor if it wasn't for the political instability that led to Domitianus killing, and the weakness of Nerva vs the pretorians, who "forced" him to adopt a highly respected general and senator as his heir, Traianus.
According to Dion Casio and Herodianus, Traianus was an "alloethnes" (a person of another race/ethnicity) and an "externus" (a foreginer). It would have been pretty weird to be considered like that being of a fully Italic family, instead of an Iberian one (although related in some degree with an Italic one).
Conquer Dacia, get that Trajan stimmy