Character Catalog

A monumental complex in Rome comprising a basilica, two libraries, a covered market, and Trajan's Column. Funded by the spoils of the Dacian Wars, it is the largest imperial forum and a pinnacle of ancient urban planning.

A 38-meter column carved with a helical frieze depicting the Dacian Wars through 2,500 figures. A major iconographic source on the Roman army, it stands in Rome and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A bridge stretching over one kilometer, designed by Apollodorus of Damascus to cross the Danube during the Dacian Wars. One of the greatest feats of engineering in the ancient world, it was later demolished by Hadrian for fear of barbarian invasions.

A system of loans to Italian landowners whose interest payments funded food and education for poor children. The first large-scale social welfare policy in the Roman Empire, it was continued by Trajan's successors.

Two military campaigns that annexed the territory of modern-day Romania, rich in gold and silver mines. The conquest brought Rome an enormous amount of plunder and thousands of slaves, which funded major public works.

Trajan's final major campaign, which pushed Roman borders to the Persian Gulf and created the provinces of Armenia, Assyria, and Mesopotamia. It represents the greatest territorial extent of the Roman Empire in history.

A multi-story commercial complex built against the Quirinal Hill, considered an ancestor of the modern shopping center with around a hundred shops. Remarkably well preserved, it now houses a museum of the imperial fora.

"You have followed the right rule, my dear Pliny, in examining the cases of those who have been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule. They are not to be sought out."

"You claimed for yourself nothing but what was of use to the State; you took from command only what was needed to defend, not to oppress."

"Trajan was strong in body, vigorous in mind, youthful in spirit despite his advanced age; he had neither arrogance nor weakness."

"The Senate and the Roman people [dedicate this column] to the emperor Caesar, son of the divine Nerva, Nerva Trajan Augustus Germanicus Dacicus..."

Trajan's birthplace in Hispania Baetica, one of the oldest Roman colonies in Iberia. Trajan grew up there before joining the army, and the city prospered greatly thanks to its imperial connection.

The largest and last of Rome's imperial forums, inaugurated in 112 AD, featuring the famous Trajan's Column and Trajan's Markets. It represents the pinnacle of Roman civic architecture, funded by the spoils of the Dacian wars.

The religious and political capital of Dacia, besieged and destroyed by Trajan during the Dacian Wars of 101–106 AD. Its conquest marked the definitive annexation of Dacia as a Roman province.

The site where Apollodorus of Damascus built Trajan's famous bridge over the Danube, stretching over a kilometer in length. This engineering masterpiece enabled the supply of Roman legions during the Second Dacian War.

Capital of the Parthian Empire, captured by Trajan in 116 AD during his major eastern campaign. This victory brought the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent, reaching as far as the Persian Gulf.

The coastal city where Trajan died in August 117 AD while returning from the Parthian campaign, struck down by a stroke. His ashes were brought back to Rome and interred at the base of Trajan's Column.