then systematically wiped it from the face of Europe. Trajan’s war on the Dacians, a civilization in what is now Romania, was the defining event of his 19-year rule. The loot he brought back was ...

Nerva and Trajan (ruled 96 – 98 AD, 98 – 117 AD) were not born to rule, but were chosen for the job. The results were remarkably successful. Nerva became emperor immediately after Domitian’s ...

In 110 AD, Trajan sent Pliny to Bithynia (part of present-day Turkey) to investigate corruption there. He appears to have died a few years later. His lasting fame, however, comes from the nine ...