- "Divide and conquer!"
Marcus Ulpius Trajanus (18 September 53 – 8 August 117), more commonly known as Trajan, was emperor of Rome from 98 AD until his death. He is best remembered for achieving one of the greatest military expansions in Roman history, as well as for his philanthropic rule, enacting extensive public building programs and welfare policies that led to him being recognized as one of the "Five Good Emperors". He leads the Romans in Civilization VI.
Rome is the one civ you can trust to continue to push to be the largest empire in the game. Trajan takes Julius Caesar's words to heart: "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).
Intro[]
Cast your net wide, oh Trajan, emperor of mighty Rome. Your legions stand at the ready to march out and establish the largest empire the world has ever seen. If you can truly get all roads to lead to Rome, yours will be an empire of great riches and luxuries. Surely then our citizens will proclaim you as their best ruler, the Optimus Princeps.
In-Game[]
Trajan's unique agenda is Optimus Princeps. He tries to incorporate as much territory as possible into his empire, and he dislikes civilizations that control little territory.
His leader ability is Trajan's Column. All of his cities get an additional City Center building (which will be a Monument if the game is started in the Ancient Era).
Detailed Approach[]
Rome wants to get cities down quickly and then speed along the path to Engineering. With Engineering in place, Baths can be added to their cities and they will grow rapidly (and expand rapidly with Trajan's free Monuments). Their "All Roads Lead to Rome" ability gives them a steady income from their network of cities. (
Trade Routes from the interior cities of their empires to foreign lands should work well; not all their Trade Routes need to be internal.) Though all this expansion will lead to conflict, it will likely be just the time that the Legion comes online. The Legion's ability to build Forts comes in two eras earlier for Rome than for other civilizations. Using these effectively is the key in being able to hold onto his expansive and powerful empire.
Lines[]
Trajan is voiced by Gianmarco Ceconi. He speaks Latin with Classical pronunciation.
Voiced[]
| Codename | Quote (English translation) | Quote (Latin) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda-based Approval | The reach of your empire is as Jupiter's over the heavens. Well done. (lit. "Like Jupiter's heavenly kingdom, your dominion is wide open. Very well.") | Simile Iovis caelesti regno imperium tui late patet. Optime. | The voice actor mispronounces, most probably because of misreading, the word "Iovis" (Jupiter) as "Lovis." |
| Agenda-based Disapproval | You have left the richest parts of the land for your enemies to claim. Are you so scared of expansion? (lit. "You have given over the richest areas of your kingdom to your enemies to be despoiled. Surely expansion doesn't scare you that much?") | Ditissimas tui regni regiones diripendas hostibus davisti. Num propagatio adeo te terret? | The first sentence contains two errors. Diripendas should read diripiendas, while davisti should read dedisti. |
| Attacked | Your hubris will be your end. No power can defeat Rome. (lit. "Your insolence will lead you to death. Rome can be conquered by no force.") | Insolentia ad mortem te ducet. A nulla vi Roma vinci potest. | A should be omitted in the second sentence; only a personal agent requires this preposition. |
| Declares War | Prepare yourselves for war. Our armies will stop at nothing; our navies will swarm your shores, for the glory of Rome. (lit. "The die is cast.") | Alea iacta est. | This is identical to Julius Caesar's Declares War line, but the in-game subtitles are different. The quote itself is actually from Julius Caesar. |
| Defeated | The wellbeing of the defeated is to not hope for much more wellbeing. | Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem. | This is a quote from Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas's appeal to his comrades in a last attempt to repel the Greeks who had broken into Troy. |
| Greeting | Hail, stranger. I am the Imperator Caesar Trajan of far-reaching Rome. Who are you and what lands can you claim as your own? (lit. "Hail, wanderer. I am Imperator Caesar Trajan of majestic Rome. Who are you? Which land do you call home?") | Ave, viator. Augustae Romae Imperator Caesar Traianus sum. Quis es? Quae terra patria vocas? | The last sentence should read "Quam terram patriam vocas." The interrogative pronoun, object, and object complement have erroneously been placed in nominative. |
| Quote from Civilopedia | Divide and conquer! | Divide et impera! | This is actually a quote from Julius Caesar. |
Unvoiced[]
Delegation: I have sent a trade delegation to you. Enjoy the Pecorino Romano: the finest salted, sheep's-milk cheese you will ever have.
Accepts Player's Declaration of Friendship: Let it be known that your Empire is a friend to ours, and that we are joined together in friendship.
Rejects Player's Declaration of Friendship: Rome must remain Rome: a friend to no-one more than to herself.
Requests Declaration of Friendship: Glorious Rome extends an offer of friendship. Do you accept?
Player Accepts Declaration of Friendship: Many thanks.
Player Rejects Declaration of Friendship: What a shame.
Denounced by Player: So, it is true: one who is full of envy, disparages everything, good or bad.
[Note: This is a quote attributed to Tacitus.]
Denounces Player: The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. And look how many you have!
[Note: The first sentence is a translation of "Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges," a quote from Tacitus's Annals.]
Too Many Troops Near His Border: Your soldiers are only a few steps from being invaders. Move them from our borders at once!
Invitation to Capital: Tell me of your capital. Was it founded by lost Trojans? Or children raised by wolves?
Invitation to City: The Empire, of course, has a city nearby. Will you come, see, and be conquered by its beauty?
Civilopedia entry[]
The Emperor Trajan, preceded on the throne by the short-reigning, undistinguished Nerva and followed by that Hadrian, took the empire to its apex of territorial expanse. The able soldier-emperor was in fact officially declared optimus princeps (“the best ruler”) by the Roman Senate, perhaps not impartial but with a certain vantage point. Trajan is also known for his relatively philanthropic reign (at least, compared to most other emperors), launching extensive public building projects and implementing forward-thinking social policies, many of the latter being abandoned by the short-sighted Senate after his death in 117 AD. He is considered to be the second of the “Five Good Emperors” (although Machiavelli coined that term in 1503, so take it with a rather large grain of salt).
Born in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica in 53 AD, son of a prominent senator and general, Trajan wasn’t even purely Roman – perhaps for the best. As a youth, he joined the imperial army, a career path in the empire that often lead to good things … assuming one survived the near continuous warfare along the borders. Trajan rose through the ranks rapidly, seeing action on some of the most contentious frontiers, and gaining the respect of powerful men. He was nominated as a consul, made a good marriage into a wealthy family (although contemporary accounts take note of some casual extramarital activities), and was declared by the new Emperor Nerva as his adopted son at the “urging” of the Praetorian Guard.
When the old emperor died 15 months later, Trajan succeeded him, and shortly thereafter deified Nerva (it helps to have friends in high places). Upon his entry into Rome – Trajan at the time was off on the borders as usual – he gave the plebeians a monetary handout, insuring his popularity with the mob. He also cleverly feigned reluctance to take power, even as he began building pragmatic relationships with wealthy senatorial families. Ironically, one of the dominant themes of Trajan’s tenure was his steady encroachment on the Roman Senate’s traditional prerogatives in decision-making.
Trajan had a taste for construction, and sponsored building projects across the empire as well as in the city itself. He also had a taste for putting his name on these, just in case history should forget he was the emperor. Hence, in time there was Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Forum, Trajan’s Bridge, Trajan’s Market, the Puente Trajan at Alcantara (Spain), and a lot of roads, aqueducts and other useful constructs scattered about. He also had a weakness for financing triumphal arches to celebrate Roman victories; given the successes his forces had in wars in the East, he had no shortage of opportunities.
Trajan was, however, more celebrated by the Romans as a victorious general (after all, what’s to get excited about yet another pile of stone compared to more land and slaves). His first conquest was the “client” kingdom of Dacia astride the Danube River, which had been shamefully granted an unfavorable – to Rome, that is – peace by the Emperor Domitian a decade earlier. No sooner was Dacia swallowed whole than Trajan annexed Nabataea (today, southern Jordan and northwest Saudi Arabia), another client state that had proved annoying. In 113 AD Trajan embarked on his last campaigns, against Parthia in the east, which had had the arrogance to sponsor a king in Armenia that was unacceptable to Rome. Trajan first marched into Armenia and added it to the empire, then went marching about Mesopotamia subduing Parthian cities and client-states. By late 116 it was over, and Trajan had deposed the Parthian king and put a Roman puppet in place over the rump kingdom. But, Trajan’s health was starting to fail; in addition, before he could complete his plan to conquer all Asia Minor, he was forced to pull legions out to deal with some pesky Jewish rebels.
Although he was often absent from Rome, Trajan nevertheless made his presence felt, keeping the mob content and supportive. Among one of his better-received efforts was a three-month gladiatorial spectacle in the Colosseum, in which some 11 thousand people (mostly slaves and criminals) and thousands of “ferocious” beasts died; it supposedly drew over five million spectators. Somewhat more benevolent was Trajan’s organization of the Alimenta, a government fund to support orphans and poor children in and around the city. It was one of several imperial efforts to improve the lot of the Roman citizens, at least those living on the Italian peninsula.
All these wars and games and buildings and public programs were expensive. So Trajan set about dealing with the financial crisis he inherited. His first effort was the establishment of correctores (auditors) to oversee the civic spending of those technically free Greek cities; they also insured that collection of imperial taxes was on the up-and-up (given the Greek tradition of corruption, a wise move). In 107 AD, Trajan devalued the Roman coinage, lowering the amount of silver in the denarius, and then minted a larger quantity of denarii than any of his predecessors. In short order, despite Trajan’s expensive proclivities, Rome was once again solvent.
Trajan, feeling ill, set out for Rome from his latest Parthian campaign. But he suddenly died of edema – in bed, a rare feat among Roman emperors – upon reaching Selinus (later renamed Trajanopolis, of course). At the time of Trajan’s death, the Roman Empire had reached its greatest extent, stretching from Hispania to the Euphrates and from the edge of Scotland to the Lower Nile. His successors, starting with Hadrian next, would spend most of their time (when not reveling in debauchery) fortifying those borders.
Trivia[]
- Trajan's leader ability is named after a monument to his victory in the Dacian Wars, while his leader agenda is a title given to him by the Roman Senate, meaning "best ruler".
Gallery[]
.png "Trajan loadscreen (Civ6).png (2.04 MB)")
Videos[]
Related achievements[]
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Rome If You Want To
Win a regular game as Trajan
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Missed That Day in History Class
Clear nuclear contamination with a Roman Legion
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And the Walls Kept Tumbling Down
Have your Roman city lose 6 population from one Vesuvius eruption.
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See also[]
- Trajan in other games
