8.5

The Death of Trajan (117 CE)

Cassius Dio, Roman History 68.33

(1) dicta: "remarks," "sayings," perfect passive participle used substantively

hoc ... fertur ēgregium: supply dictum, "this outstanding (remark) is reported" (LS fero II.B.7).

ipsīus: Trāiānī

amīcīs ... culpantibus: "to his friends blaming him," i.e. "when his friends blamed him," indirect object of respondit with present active participle

commūnis: "accessible"

esset: subjunctive because the alleged reason is asserted by somebody else, and not necessarily vouched for by the writer (AG 540).

respondit ... optāsset: order: respondit sē esse talem imperātōrem prīvātīs, quālēs prīvātus optāsset imperātōrēs sibi.

talem  ... imperatōrem ... qualēs: "the sort of emperor which." The plural qualēs makes the statement more general. On correlatives like talis ... qualis, see AG 152.

optāsset: optāvisset

(2) post ... glōriam ... quaesītam: "after glory (was) obtained," i.e., after obtaining glory. For the construction post + noun + participle, see LS post II.B.

bellī domīque: "in war and at home" (i.e. in peacetime), a variant of the more common domī militiaeque.

apud Seleuciam Isauriae: it is generally stated that he lived to reach Selinus in Cilicia, where he died in August, 117 CE (Hazzard).

prōfluviō ventris: "diarrhea."  Trajan died of a stroke at Selinus, later Traianopolis, in Cilicia probably on August 8, 117 CE, according to Dio (Bird). Cassius Dio relates Trajan's death as follows:

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Trajan was preparing to make a fresh expedition into Mesopotamia, but, as his malady began to afflict him sorely, he set out, intending to sail to Italy, leaving Publius Aelius Hadrian with the army in Syria. Thus it came about that the Romans in conquering Armenia, most of Mesopotamia, and the Parthians had undergone their hardships and dangers all for naught, for even the Parthians rejected Parthamaspates and began to be ruled once more in their own fashion. Trajan himself suspected that his sickness was due to poison that had been administered to him; but some state that it was because the blood, which descends every year into the lower parts of the body, was in his case checked in its flow. He had also suffered a stroke, so that a portion of his body was paralyzed, and he was dropsical all over. On coming to Selinus in Cilicia, which we also call Traianopolis, he suddenly expired, after reigning nineteen years, six months and fifteen days (Dio, Roman History 68.33, Trans. E. Cary).

inter dīvōs relātus est: see Smith, s.v. Apotheosis.

sōlusque omnium intrā urbem sepultus est: he was the only one of the emperors who was buried within the city. This privilege was enjoyed by the Vestal Virgins (Hazzard).

in forō: the Forum Trāiānum was probably the most magnificent of all the Roman fora. It occupied a large space between the Capitoline and the Quirinal Hills, the latter of which was cut away to make room for it. Among the many buildings it contained were two libraries, one for Latin and the other for Greek manuscripts. It contained also the famous Column of Trajan. This column, composed of huge drums of white marble, is pierced within. A bas-relief of the chief events of the Dacian war winds round the shaft. It is still standing (Hazzard).

CXLIV pedēs: this was the height of the Quirinal Hill that was cut away (Hazzard).

(3) Huius tantum memoriae dēlātum est: "so much (fond) recollection of this man has been granted," i.e., "so much respect has been paid to his memory" (Bird). See LS defero II.B. tantum signals the following result clause (AG 537).

nōn aliter .. nisi: "on no other condition than," "in no other way than," see LS nisi I.C.2.

prīncipibus adclāmētur: "an acclamation is made for emperors," impersonal passive (AG 208.d). 

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An acclamatio was a rhythmic cheer, sometimes spoken in unison, expressing congratulations, praise, applause, joy or the contrary. It could be spontaneous, or customary on certain occasions, such weddings or funerals. A victorious general was greeted with the acclamation Io Triumphe. In the later principate, the annual acclamation of the emperor as imperator in the senate served to count the years of his reign.

Fēlīciōr Augustō, melior Trāiānō: Trajan became an exemplar of military and civic virtues (Ammianus, 16.1–4; 30.9.1; Julian, Symp. 328B). The title Optimus was used unofficially for him in CE 100 and officially on coins from CE 103 onwards. Eutropius alone is responsible for our knowledge of the senate’s prayer for the new emperors in the fourth century, that they be "more fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan" (Bird).

adeō: signals the following result clause, ut ... praestet (AG 537)

obtinuit: "has lasted" (LS obtineo II).

adsentantibus ... laudantibus: "those flattering ... those praising," substantive use of the participle, dative indirect objects of the verb praestet.

occāsiōnem māgnificentissimī ... exemplī: "the opportunity for a most magnificent example." This is the technical, rhetorical sense of exemplum: a narrative or anecdote used to illustrate a claim or moral point, in this case to praise or flatter a ruler.

praestet: "supplies," "provides"