Trajan was born on this date, September 18, 53 AD.
Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Traianus) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD. He was officially declared by the Senate optimus princeps. ("the best ruler") Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history, leading the empire to attain its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death. Trajan was the first emperor born outside Italy. Trajan is best known for his public building program, which reshaped Rome and left many landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column.
Early in his reign, he annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly, and paid for many of Rome's monuments. Trajan's Column was the crowning glory of the Forum Traiani. Covered by a continuous frieze of the war's events, the column was capped with a gilded heroic statue of the emperor.
In 107 Trajan devalued Roman coinage. He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 93.5% to 89% – the actual silver weight dropping from 3.04 grams to 2.88 grams. This devaluation, coupled with the massive amount of gold and silver carried off after the Dacian Wars, allowed the emperor to mint a far larger quantity of denarii than his predecessors.
Trajan was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.
In late 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and died of a stroke in the city of Selinus. He was deified by the Senate and his ashes were laid to rest under Trajan's Column.
Aureus struck circa late 113-114 showing Trajan's column.
The Roman Empire reached it's maximum territorial extent under Trajan.
In April 2025 a Trajan aureus dating from 114-117 CE, was unearthed at Newstead in the Scottish Borders. The obverse features a portrait of the Emperor, while the reverse shows the Parthian king surrendering.
The montefortino (4th c BC) was an early Republic design influenced by Celtic and Etruscan craftsmanship with a simple conical bowl and small ridge. Brought to Italy by the Senones tribe, it was named after a Celtic burial site in Montefortino, near Ancona, Italy. This distinctive style of ancient military headgear became a standard piece of equipment for the Roman legions from the 4th century BC down to the 1st century.
The coolus (3rd–1st c BC) was a more rounded, transitional helm, that bridged bronze types to iron.
Imperial Gallic & Italic (1st c BC – 3rd c AD) helmets of the Roman Empire featured reinforced iron bowls, sloping neck guards to deflect blows.
They represented the peak of Roman legionary head protection. Crests and plumes adorned them. Horsehair or feathers were used by centurions and officers to display rank and signal visibility in combat. Centurions wore distinctive, transverse (sideways) crests running from left to right. Tribunes and legates typically wore front-to-back (vertical) crests to display their high status. Common soldiers did not wear plumes.
The most vulnerable part of the soldier in battle was his head, so protection by some form of helmet goes back to the earliest times.
Flattened copper helmet and skull found in the Royal Tomb at Ur
Helmets were purpose-built to protect the wearer against the weapons he faced. At first, ancient helmets seem to have been pointed at the top, to deflect the downward force. When the ax became popular as a weapon, the shape of the helmet was modified to counter the cutting edge of a downward-falling blade.
Stele of Vultures circa 2500 BC. King Eannatum of Lagash leads a phalanx of soldiers with metal helmets, armed with spears and socketed axes. They are trampling over the bodies of their enemies.
The technology of armor was constantly evolving. By 3,000 BC metal workers were making helmets of copper. 500 years later the Sumerians had bronze helmets, spears and axes.
Egyptian soldier in the act of killing a warrior of the 'Sea Peoples' in the Medinet Habu temple relief
Corinthian helmet
The Helmet of Agighiol is a Geto-Dacian silver helmet dating from the 5th century BC.
Sutton Hoo helmet reconstructed
The Golden Helmet of Coţofeneşti
This 2,600-year-old bronze helmet was discovered in the waters of Haifa Bay, Israel in 2012. When it was made Greek colonies dotted the Mediterranean coast, stretching from the Black Sea to southern France.
This warrior was likely one of Egyptian pharaoh Necho II's mercenaries, which he sent through Israel accompanied by a fleet of ancient ships. The pharaoh was involved in military campaigns in the region for nearly a decade, operations in which this warrior and his group likely were involved.
Ancient Greek helmets from the Archaic period (800 BC – 480 BCE). A Corinthian-type. The second is a Illyrian-type. The third is from Agia Paraskevi. All are made of bronze.
The Crosby Garrett Helmet is a copper alloy Roman cavalry helmet dating from the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD.
Bronze Helmet from Ancient Greece, around 460 BC
Roman horseman's helmet.
Gladiator helmet
Greek Spartan Crest Helmet
Spanish morion (helmet)
Helmet of the Chou Dynasty, Emperor Wu Wang tomb complex at Laoyang, circa 1020 BC. Japanese helmet, circa 1590–1640.
Helmet of a Yuan Dynasty officer Chinese chichak-style helmet, Ming Dynasty
Helmet from 7th century Viking boat grave
A myth about Vikings was that they wore horned helmets. There is no proof that Viking helmets had horns. The reason their helmets didn't have horns was because they would have gotten in the way in battle and would injure the wearer.
Real Viking helmets had protective metal down and around the ears and some helmets found in burial mounts had a metal mask in front.
German helmet by famous armorsmith Jörg Seusenhofer ca. 1540
In Greek myth, a terrible sea monster suddenly appears on the Trojan coast, where it causes great destruction. To appease the beast, the king of Troy, Laomedon, sends his daughter Hesione as a sacrifice. At the last moment the hero Hercules arrives to slay the monster and rescue the princess.
A menacing creature lurks on an ancient Greek vase in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The scene is on a Corinthian krater dating to around 550 B.C. It is the oldest illustration of the ancient legend of the Monster of Troy. The vase shows Hesione and Hercules fighting the monster.
Hesione throws rocks from a pile at her feet while Hercules shoots arrows.
Some suggest that the Monster of Troy resembles a Plesiosaur, a Mesozoic marine reptile. A recent suggestion is that it is a monitor lizard skull from an extant species of Varanus.
Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965)
Plesiosaurs are amoung the largest marine apex predators in the fossil record.
