The Roman Series: Who was emperor Trajan?
On 18 September 53, Marcus Ulpius Trajanus was born in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica (in what is now Andalusia in modern Spain) near Seville. Trajan was the son of Marcia, a Roman noblewoman and sister-in-law of the second Flavian Emperor Titus. His father was Marcus Ulpius Trajanus the elder. He served under Vespasian in the First Jewish Roman War. The army In 76-77, Trajan's father was governor of Syria, where Trajan himself remained as Tribunus legionis. After his father's replacement, Trajan moved to the Rhine department of the army. However his time in the army remained obscure. Love and Marriage Trajan married Pompeia Plotina. This was a happy marriage but the couple didn't have any children together. Rise to power When Nerva became Roman Emperor, he was so unpopular with the army, he felt he had to gain the support of the military in order to avoid being ousted. He accomplished this in the summer of 97 by naming Trajan as his adoptive son and successor