Trajan - optimus princeps

M. Ulpius Trajanus, was born at italica, near Seville, the 18th of September, 52. He was consul in 91, and at the close of 97 he was adopted by the Emperor Nerva, who gave him the rank of Caesar. He was the first emperor who was born out of Italy. Trajan was Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD.

Officially declared by the Senate optimus princeps ("the best ruler"), Trajan was 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 in 105–106 greatly enriched the empire. The conquest paid for many of Rome's monuments. In 107 Trajan devalued Roman currency. 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.

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. He was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.

This devaluation, coupled with the massive amount of gold and silver carried off after Trajan's Dacian Wars, allowed the emperor to mint a larger quantity of denarii than his predecessors. Trajan Gold Aureus. Rome, struck A.D. 103-11.