Marcus Ulpius Traianus (father of Trajan)

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Marcus Ulpius Traianus was a 1st-century Roman general and senator, and the father of Emperor Trajan. He was born and raised in Italica, a Roman colony in Hispania Baetica, and belonged to the noble Ulpia family. His sister Ulpia was the grandmother of Emperor Hadrian, linking Traianus to another great Roman line. He married Marcia, and they had two children: Ulpia Marciana and Marcus Ulpius Traianus (Trajan).

Traianus had a long career in both the military and the senate. He likely entered the Senate during Claudius’s reign and may have commanded a legion under Corbulo during Nero’s time. During the First Jewish–Roman War (AD 67–68), he served under Vespasian in Judaea and commanded the Tenth Legion. After Vespasian became emperor, Traianus held several important posts: governor of Cappadocia, consul suffectus in AD 72, governor of Syria (AD 73–74), and proconsul of Asia (AD 79–80). He also served as governor of Hispania Baetica at some point. He probably died before his son Trajan became emperor in AD 98.

In AD 100, Trajan founded a colony in North Africa named Colonia Marciana Ulpia Trajana Thamugadi in honor of his parents, now known as Timgad in Algeria. In AD 112, Trajan deified his father, giving him the title Divus Traianus Pater.