Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/229

 The Roman Empire at its Height 159 province and sprinkled plentiful Roman colonies on the north side of the great river. The descendants of these colonists in this region still call themselves Rumanians and their land Rumania, a form of the word "Roman." Trajan then turned his attention to the eastern frontier, where a large portion of the boundary was formed by the upper Eu- phrates River. Rome thus held the western half of the Fertile Crescent, but it had never conquered the eastern half, including Assyria and Babylonia, which was held by the powerful kingdom of the Parthians. Trajan, emulating Alexander the Great, at- tempted to add this region to the Empire, but he failed and died a bitterly disappointed man. 251. Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) completes the Frontier Defenses. Trajan's successor, Hadrian, was also an able soldier. He had, moreover, the judgment of a statesman. He made no effort to con- tinue Trajan's conquests in the East, but, on the contrary, wisely brought the frontier back to the Euphrates. He retained Dacia, however, and strengthened the whole northern frontier, especially the long barrier reaching from the Rhine to the Danube, where the completion of a continuous wall was largely due to him. He built a similar wall along the northern boundary across Britain. The lines of both these walls are still visible. As a result of the wise measures of Hadrian and the impressive victories of Trajan, the frontiers were safe and quiet for a long time. 252. The Army under Trajan and Hadrian. Drawn from all parts of the Empire, the army now consisted of many different nationalities, like the British army hi the recent World War. A legion of Spaniards might be stationed on the Euphrates, or a group of youths from the Nile might spend years in sentry duty on the wall that barred out the Germans. The army posts were equipped with fine barracks and living quarters for officers and men. The discipline was never relaxed, for the troops had always to be ready to meet any attack from the barbarian Germans who lived beyond the walls. 253. Improvements in Government. Meantime the Empire had been undergoing important changes within. The emperors