The Career of the Emperor Trajan

As the title suggests Nicholas Jackson’s Trajan: Rome’s Last Conqueror, from Greenhill Books, is about the life and achievements of one of the greatest Roman emperors, during whose reign the Empire achieved its greatest territorial extent in history.

Nicholas Jackson was unknown to me before I saw this book; he’s not an historian, but a pharmaceutical and medical practitioner, with a passion for Roman history as a hobby. He has no other historical publications in his credit, which made me fear that the content of the book might not meet the basic requirements to make it a satisfactory read. As it turned out, my doubts were quickly dispelled. As he says in his introduction, Jackson spent several good years writing the book, including the collection and analysis of materials. In addition, he consulted with the eminent historians Anthony Birley and Barbara M. Levick. In consequence, Jackson’s work is a credible presentation of Trajan as a man, leader, and emperor, with a clear discussion of what can be considered fiction and the truth about him. Jackson approached the evidence information in a critical manner; for example, he does an excellent job of analysing Trajan’s death and the subsequent very unclear evidence as to the transfer of power to Hadrian.

Naturally, Jackson covers Trajan’s origins, his adolescent years (about which we do not know much), his familiarization with the military and career in the army, and finally the process of coming to power. Trajan is shown to us as a competent person whose decisions are based on the advice of his trusted consilium, which included his wife Plotina, older sister Marciana and friend Sura. The description of the emperor’s relationship with his wife, who was rather a companion as the emperor himself had homosexual preferences, seems to be extremely interesting.

Certainly, the descriptions of Trajan’s war campaigns in Dacia and Parthia, which the author additionally supplemented with the proposed lists of commanders, units and the number of the army, are of great value in the book. At some points, there appear some author’s reflections on Trajan’s identification with Alexander the Great, a figure who for many people of antiquity was an unattainable ideal and model of a winner.

From my perspective, an extremely intriguing aspect of Trajan’s biography was the issue of the Emperor’s relationship with Hadrian, who was in no way particularly favoured during Trajan’s lifetime. Jackson’s analysis of how this came about is excellent. When in 86 C.E., the then 10 year old Hadrian lost his father and mother, the future emperor Trajan and his friend Publius Acilius Attianus (later Trajan’s praetorian prefect) decided to look after him. Upon his accession to the throne in 98 C.E., Trajan could look for a real heir in Hadrian. But his failure to offer over high titles and offices to Hadrian suggests that Hadrian was not in special favour with the new emperor. Certainly, a great honour for Hadrian was the consent for his marriage with Vibia Sabina (who was then 12 years old) – the granddaughter of Trajan’s sister; it is possible, however, that permission for the match resulted through the persuasion by Trajan’s wife Plotina. As it turned out, however, the marriage was not successful, partly due to Hadrian’s homosexual tendencies.

But where does Trajan’s dislike of Hadrian come from? The author believes that it grew gradually and could result from the defiant and disobedient youthful behaviour of Hadrian, which displeased Trajan, known for his modesty and moderation. Moreover, the information coming to his ears about the unsuccessful relationship between Sabina and Hadrian certainly limited Hadrian’s promotions. After Trajan’s death, Hadrian, possibly with the help of Plotina and Attianus, secured his power. One of his first decisions was to accuse four of Trajan’s closest advisers of conspiring against him, and to kill them.

To sum up, the reader receives substantive content, which has been enriched with numerous notes (unfortunately at the end of the book), an extensive bibliography, and an index. Jackson has created a great work, relying on multiple valuable ancient and contemporary sources, and managed to conduct a thorough analysis of Trajan’s life, about which, incidentally, we do not know as much as we should know. Our primary sources of knowledge about Trajan are the preserved works of Cassius Dio, Arrian and the letters of Pliny the Younger.

In addition, the book includes many beautiful illustrations and maps, which allow readers to better find themselves in the ancient world.

Trajan is recommended for anyone who would like to learn more about this great Emperor, and who are looking for reliable and good studies of his life and times.

Note: Trajan, Rome’s Last Conqueror is also available in e-editions.

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