Trajan (A.D. 98-117)
Marcus Ulpius Trojanus held several military posts before appointment as governor of Upper Germany by Nerve who later adopted him as the heir to the throne. On his succession, Trajan began a program of territorial expansion and conquered and incorporated Dacia as Roman province. He carried out a spectacular construction program in Rome, and he built or repaired many roads, bridges and aqueducts throughout the Empire. Late in his reign, four new provinces were added to the Empire but revolts broke out in number of provinces and he withdrew to Antioch.
A very interesting aureus is the REGNA AD SIGNATA reverse which probably refers to the confirmation of the rulers of Rome's Eastern client states, ca. 114 AD, in preparation for the conquest of Parthia
Trajan's Parthian campaign was a military victory, and there are several types with Victory that refer to this period. He took the title "Parthicus" that appears on other coins, but after Trajan's death in A.D. 117, Hadrian abandoned the new conquests as too difficult to hold. There are examples of coins believed minted in Rome for exclusive use in the East during the Parthian campaign. All are orichalum, and the entire issue consists primarily of dupondii, as and semis - the uncia are incredibly rare. In the fact that the series of coinage was minted in orichalum lies the interesting facet of these types.
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