Roman Emperor Baseball Card Project

REQUIRED EMPERORS


TRAJAN, HADRIAN & MARCUS AURELIUS

Trajan (98 - 117) ruled for 19 years and is remembered as one of the most renowned and greatest of the Roman emperors. He was the first non-Italian emperor (the first emperor to come from a province), being born of Roman parents in Spain. He is best remembered for his military conquests and public works in Rome. He became a military hero after his defeat of a Germanic invasion. He extended the Roman frontier to its greatest extent by conquering and annexing Dacia (the region north of the Danube River). He also fought the Parthians in the east and annexed Armenia, Mesopotamia, and part of Arabia to the Roman Empire. The Empire, as far as territory goes, reached its largest extent under Trajan, though some argue Trajan extended the empire too far, making it too large to properly manage. One of Trajan's many public works was the Column of Trajan in Rome, around which the story of Trajan's achievements in Dacia was carved on a spiral decoration. Trajan's good rule in Rome and abroad earned him the title of "Optimus Princeps" or "Best Ruler." He died of a stroke while on a military campaign in the eastern provinces.

Hadrian (117 - 138) succeeded Trajan as emperor and ruled for 21 years. Like Trajan, he also was born in Spain. Unlike Trajan, however, he was a champion of the arts and culture who had been tutored by the Greeks and spent much of his time in scholarly pursuits. He is remembered for the codification of the Roman laws and reform of the provincial governments. He also consolidated the borders of the frontier and built many walls of fortification which still stand today. Hadrian's main goal was to stabilize the Roman Empire. Hadrian abandoned the newly conquered provinces in the east as they were difficult to hold and defend. He withdrew the eastern border of the Roman Empire back to the Euphrates River. He also strengthened the western boundaries by building defensive walls along the Rhine and Danube Rivers, as well as a wall in Britain which was named after him (Hadrian's Wall). Hadrian's Wall marked the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire at the time. Hadrian dealt mainly with troubles in the provinces. He spent more than half of his reign outside of Rome traveling. He once bragged that he had visited every province during his reign. He finally suppressed the massive Judean revolt which culminated in the massacre of Masada. He died of natural causes after appointing Antoninus Pius as his successor.

Marcus Aurelius (161 - 180) ruled for 19 years and was the last of the "Five Good Emperors." His death brought an end to the Pax Romana. He was known as the "philosopher-king" because he read so much and wrote his own book called "Meditations", which is a classic of the Ancient world. The irony of his reign was that it was dominated by barbaric invasions and natural disasters which plagued the empire. During most of his reign, Marcus Aurelius was involved in defending the Empire against invaders from the north and the east. In addition, a plague struck the Empire, killing many. This led to a large number of Germans being admitted into the Empire as auxiliary soldiers to defend the frontiers. The results were that the Roman army was now made up of mercenaries who were not from Rome and were paid for their service. This caused Rome defensive and financial problems. More money was being spent on the army than was coming into the Empire. Thus, economic and political stability began to decline in the Roman Empire. Marcus Aurelius died after taking too much opium to kill the pain of a battle wound.

Augustus Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius Constantine Name/Year List Pictures