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Sommerville: Chalcedony-Onyx. Trajan Thirteenth Emperor of Rome AD 98-117. One of the greatest and best of the Roman Emperors. He was a man of majestic appearance. He conquered the Dacians and Parthians and descended the Tigris to the Persian Gulf. The Column of Trajan at Rome contains sculptures representing his Dacian exploits. At the triumph accorded to him he exhibited games for 123 days. In these games 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators slaughtered each other for the amusement of the Roman populace. Trajan built several of the great Roman Roads also the Forum Trajanum in Rome in which stood the column of Trajan. Several distinguished writers lived in his reign - Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Plutarch, Suetanius, and Epicteus. Greek and Roman Cameos, Case E.

Vermeule: Cameo. Chalcedony-Onyx [unmounted]. Draped, cuirassed bust of the Emperor Trajan (AD 98-117) facing to right. Neoclassical, copied from an ancient coin (of AD104-116).