On 27 January 98 A.C.E., Marcus Ulpius Traianus (commonly known as 'Trajan', b. 53, d. 117) succeeded to the throne of the Roman Empire. His predecessor, Nerva (30-98 A.C.E), who had only reigned for a little more than a year, managed to leave behind a legacy benefiting most citizens..
Although unpopular with some members of the government, Nerva was able to push through measures designed to alleviate the economic burdens of the working poor. In addition to instituting a generous round of tax breaks, he also allocated free tracts of land to those willing to take up cultivation.
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In his nineteen year reign, Trajan is often most remembered for his military conquests over Dacia and the mighty Parthian Empire. Beyond his achievements in battle, however, Trajan ought to be viewed more by history as a domestic reformer - a true disciple of Nerva - than a supreme warrior.
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As any other ambitious ruler, Trajan wanted to expand the frontiers and influence of his Empire. War, however, was only one means to that end. He was equally capable of using statesmanship to attain his political objectives. Hence, skillful diplomacy was often substituted for a more heavy-handed approach.
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Unlike some of the men who had 'assumed the purple' before him, Trajan possessed a keen sense of the limits of Empire. The size of the Roman territory throughout the Mediterranean was becoming too large to effectively govern, and parts of the Empire had been mired in an economic downturn for years.
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To reduce the numbers of the unemployed, Trajan set out on an ambitious public works campaign in the city. Between 100-110 A.C.E., he commissioned the famous architect, Apollodorus of Damascus, to build a giant marketplace. Two years after its completion, another massive construction effort resulted in the making of a new Forum. Both 'Trajan's Market' and 'Trajan's Forum' created thousands of jobs in their time and can still be seen in part in Rome today.
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Beyond ordering the creation of new buildings, Trajan instituted two far-reaching programs (with approval of the Senate) to stimulate the economy. Although it may have begun under the brief reign of Nerva, alimenta, whereby poor youth (boys, girls and even children born out of wedlock) were eligible to receive state funding in the form of cash payouts to meet their daily expenses, was greatly expanded by Trajan. The scope of his alimenta program rivalled the massive Roman military budget in terms of spending at almost seventy-five percent of its size.
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At the same time, Trajan pushed through legislation allowing small farmers to borrow money at the low rate of five percent interest in order to allow them to purchase the supplies (and possibly labor) needed to raise bountiful crops for harvest.
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His state-interventionist economic policy reaped immediate rewards. As laborers on the construction projects in the city and cultivators in the countryside had a stable source of income, consumer spending picked up, merchants saw greater profits, Rome was less dependent on foreign sources for food and a generation of young people were saved from the travails of poverty.
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In celebration of their new-found fortune, coins bearing the inscription 'Italia Restituta' (Italy Restored) were minted and circulated around the Empire. Of course, not every citizen was free from destitution and economic misery, but a large number of people had been freed from the tyranny of privation.
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In the world of the 21st century, governments would do well to study the priorities of Trajan's rule.
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(Photo: A Roman coin displaying the profile of Trajan)
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J Roquen