After the death of Trajan on 8th August 117, Hadrian drafted from Syria a 'carefully worded' letter to the Senate in Rome in which he reported his accession and requested divine honours for his adoptive father. He also apologised for having assumed the imperial title only on the acclamation of the army, on the ground that… Continue reading Late September AD 117 – Hadrian receives the Senate’s response to his letter (#Hadrian1900)
On 8 August AD 117, after a 19-year reign of military glory, Emperor Trajan died at the coastal town of Selinus in western Cilicia (present-day Gazipaşa, about 180 km to the East of Antalya on the southern coast of Turkey). According to Cassius Dio, Trajan fell seriously ill after an unsuccessful siege of the Mesopotamian… Continue reading 8 August AD 117 – Trajan dies at Selinus (#Hadrian1900)
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the accession of Trajan to the imperial throne (28 January 98 AD). As a tribute, here is a selection of images from the Temple of Trajan at Pergamon, an ancient Greek city in Aeolis. The Temple of Trajan (Trajaneum) was one of the most spectacular structures built on the… Continue reading Photoset: The Temple of Trajan on the Upper Acropolis of Pergamon (Turkey)
The NY Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen has a spectacular imperial Roman sculpture gallery. Their collection of portraits of the members of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty is particularly impressive. The Nerva–Antonine dynasty was a dynasty of seven Roman Emperors who ruled from 96 AD to 192 AD. These Emperors were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius,… Continue reading The Nerva-Antonines in Copenhagen
On 9th August 117 AD (or it might have been the 7th or 8th), the Emperor Trajan died suddenly from a stroke at Selinus in Cilicia on his way from Syria to Rome. This event prompted the renaming of the city as Trajanopolis and the building of a cenotaph to Trajan. Trajan lived 63 years and… Continue reading The death of Trajan and accession of Hadrian
Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed in 113 AD, Trajan's Forum, Rome On this day (26th May) 107 AD, Trajan celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Dacians. The celebrations lasted 123 days and entertained the populace with a vast display of gladiators and animals. In Rome, Apollodorus of Damascus designed and built in the huge… Continue reading The Column of Trajan, Rome
