Marcus Ulpius Traianus (father of Trajan)

Marcus Ulpius Traianus (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman general and senator. He was the biological father of emperor Trajan.

Marcus Ulpius Traianus
Bust at the National Museum of Serbia, Belgrade, usually identified as Trajan's father. It may instead depict Trajan himself.[1]
Born	1st century AD Italica, Baetica, Roman Empire
Died	1st century AD
Nationality	Roman
Spouse	Marcia
Children	Marciana and Trajan
Family	gens Ulpia

Family

Traianus belonged to a branch of the gens Ulpia, which originally came from the Umbrian city of Tuder, but he was born and raised in the Roman colony of Italica, north of modern Santiponce and northwest of Seville, in the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica.^[2] The town was founded in 206 BC by Scipio Africanus, as a settlement for wounded and invalid veterans of the wars against Carthage.^[2] The Ulpii, like the Aelii and the Traii, were among the leading Roman families of the city.^[2] From the latter family came the ancestors of Traianus, who intermarried with the Ulpii, giving rise to the cognomen Traianus.^[2] Since the father of Traianus joined the ranks of the senators in Rome, it is very likely that his grandfather was already a member of the Roman Senate.^[2] The ancestry of Traianus' mother is unknown. His sister Ulpia was the mother of Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer, and grandmother of the emperor Hadrian. Traianus married a Roman noblewoman named Marcia.^[3] She was the elder sister of Marcia Furnilla, the second wife of Titus, which enabled her to further her husband's career.^[3] They had two children: a daughter, Ulpia Marciana, and a son, Marcus, the future emperor Trajan.^[3]

Career

The chronology of Traianus' career is uncertain. He may have taken his seat in the senate by the reign of Claudius.^[3] In the time of Nero, he may have commanded a legion under the general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo; during the First Jewish–Roman War, from AD 67 to 68, he came into favour with the future emperor Vespasian, then governor of Judaea, under whom he commanded the Tenth Legion. After his accession to the Empire, Vespasian recognized Traianus' military successes by awarding him the governorship of Cappadocia, and naming him consul suffectus for the months of September and October in AD 72.^[a] After his consulship, Trajan served as governor of Syria from AD 73 to 74, then proconsul of Asia from AD 79 to 80. He was also governor of Hispania Baetica, but the time of this appointment is unknown.^[6]

Legacy

Reverse of Roman aureus struck under Trajan, AD 115, commemorating the elder Traianus after his deification.

Traianus lived out his final years in honor and distinction. Indirect evidence suggests that he may have died before his son became emperor in AD 98.^[7] In AD 100, his son founded a colony in North Africa, named Colonia Marciana Ulpia Trajana Thamugadi after his mother and father; today the town is known as Timgad, in Algeria.^[8] In AD 112, Traianus was deified by his son, becoming known as Divus Traianus Pater.^[9]

Nerva–Antonine family tree

v t e Nerva–Antonine family tree
Q. Marcius Barea Soranus Q. Marcius Barea Sura Antonia Furnilla M. Cocceius Nerva Sergia Plautilla P. Aelius Hadrianus Titus (r. 79–81) Marcia Furnilla Marcia Trajanus Pater Nerva (r. 96–98) Ulpia[i] Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus Flavia[ii] Marciana[iii] C. Salonius Matidius[iv] Trajan (r. 98–117) Plotina P. Acilius Attianus P. Aelius Afer[v] Paulina Major[vi] Lucius Mindius (2) Libo Rupilius Frugi (3) Salonia Matidia[vii] L. Vibius Sabinus (1)[viii] Paulina Minor[vi] L. Julius Ursus Servianus[ix] Matidia Minor[vii] Sabina[iii] Hadrian[v][x][vi] (r. 117–138) Antinous[xi] C. Fuscus Salinator I Julia Serviana Paulina M. Annius Verus[xii] Rupilia Faustina[xiii][xiv] Boionia Procilla Cn. Arrius Antoninus L. Ceionius Commodus Appia Severa C. Fuscus Salinator II L. Caesennius Paetus Arria Antonina Arria Fadilla[xv] T. Aurelius Fulvus L. Caesennius Antoninus L. Commodus Plautia unknown[xvi] C. Avidius Nigrinus M. Annius Verus[xiii] Calvisia Domitia Lucilla[xvii] Fundania[xviii] M. Annius Libo[xiii] Faustina[xv] Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161)[xv] L. Aelius Caesar[xvi] Avidia[xvi] Cornificia[xiii] Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180)[xix] Faustina Minor[xix] C. Avidius Cassius[xx][clarification needed] Aurelia Fadilla[xv] Lucius Verus (r. 161–169)[xvi] (1) Ceionia Fabia[xvi] Plautius Quintillus[xxi] Q. Servilius Pudens Ceionia Plautia[xvi] Cornificia Minor[xxii] M. Petronius Sura Commodus (r. 177–192)[xix] Fadilla[xxii] M. Annius Verus Caesar[xix] Ti. Claudius Pompeianus (2) Lucilla[xix] M. Plautius Quintillus[xvi] Junius Licinius Balbus Servilia Ceionia Petronius Antoninus L. Aurelius Agaclytus (2) Aurelia Sabina[xxii] L. Antistius Burrus (1) Plautius Quintillus Plautia Servilla C. Furius Sabinus Timesitheus Maecia Faustina Junius Licinius Balbus? Furia Sabina Tranquillina Gordian III (r. 238–244)
(1) = 1st spouse (2) = 2nd spouse (3) = 3rd spouse   Reddish-purple indicates emperor of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty   lighter purple indicates designated imperial heir of said dynasty who never reigned   grey indicates unsuccessful imperial aspirants   bluish-purple indicates emperors of other dynasties dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships Small Caps = posthumously deified (Augusti, Augustae, or other)
Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7. Giacosa (1977), p. 8. Levick (2014), p. 161. Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161. Giacosa (1977), p. 7. DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian". Giacosa (1977), p. 9. Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161. Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus". Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322. Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2–5, etc. Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163. Levick (2014), p. 163. It is uncertain whether Rupilia Faustina was Frugi's daughter by Salonia Matidia or another woman. Levick (2014), p. 162. Levick (2014), p. 164. Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10. Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163. Giacosa (1977), p. 10. The epitomator of Cassius Dio (72.22) gives the story that Faustina the Elder promised to marry Avidius Cassius. This is also echoed in HA "Marcus Aurelius" 24. Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164. Levick (2014), p. 117.
References: DIR contributors (2000). "De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families". Retrieved 14 April 2015. Giacosa, Giorgio (1977). Women of the Caesars: Their Lives and Portraits on Coins. Translated by R. Ross Holloway. Milan: Edizioni Arte e Moneta. ISBN 0-8390-0193-2. Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-15708-2. Levick, Barbara (2014). Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537941-9. Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

See also

• Ulpia gens

Notes

1. Gallivan dated Trajan's consulship to AD 70, based on his arrangement of the fragments of tablet 'E' of the Fasti Ostienses;^[4] however, subsequent recovery of fragments allowed Vidman to date his tenure to the months of September and October of AD 72.^[5]