Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/869

 B TRAJAN to the imperial dignity was Imperator Caesar Nerva Trajanus Augustus. In January, 98, Trajan, who was then encamped at Cologne, cceeded to the throne ; but for many months e did not go to Rome, being engaged in war on the frontiers of the Rhine and the Danube. He entered Rome amid the acclamations of the people, and soon received, for his efforts to ameliorate the condition of the poor and to improve the judicature, the title of Pater trife, and the new designation of Optimus. 100 the younger Pliny, who was his warm rsonal friend, pronounced his panegyric up- . him. In 101 Trajan crossed the Danube, efeated Decebalus, the Dacian monarch, took any of his strong posts and his capital Sar- izegitusa, and, having compelled him to sue r peace, returned to Rome in triumph with the title of Dacicus. In 104 Decebalus broke his treaty, refused to comply with the emper- or's demand that he should surrender himself, and when Trajan marched against him first at- tempted to poison his enemy. The conquest of Dacia was now determined upon, and an immense bridge was built across the Danube, over which the Roman army passed into that country. This bridge was the largest work of the kind ever built by the ancients, and, ac- cording to Dion Cassius, consisted of 20 piers, 150 ft. high, 60 ft. wide, 170 ft. apart, and united by wooden arches ; it was probably in the neighborhood of the modern town of Tchernetz in W. Wallachia. Decebalus was de- feated at all points, and in despair killed him- self (106) ; Dacia was reduced to the condition of a Roman province, and fortified posts were built and colonists settled in it (107). When the emperor returned to Rome, he exhibited to the people games which lasted 123 days, and in which 11,000 animals were killed and 10,000 gladiators fought. In the following years he carried on a campaign against the Parthians and Armenians, and was engaged in numerous military expeditions, the history of which is almost altogether lost. In the spring of 115 he marched against the Parthians, hav- ing previously received the submission of Ar- menia and the princes of the neighboring coun- tries. He crossed the Tigris on a bridge of boats, subdued the country beyond that river, and returned to Antioch the same year. In 116 he again marched to the Tigris, and sailed down that stream to the Persian gulf, but was recalled by a general uprising in the provinces which he had reduced. Arriving at Ctesiphon, he gave the Parthians a king whom they quick- ly expelled. After the siege of Atrse in Meso- potamia he fell sick, and, leaving his successor Hadrian in command in Syria, started for Italy, but died on the way. His ashes were carried to Rome in a golden urn, and placed under the column bearing his name, which he had erected in honor of his Dacian victories. For many generations afterward Trajan's reign was looked upon as the most brilliant in the imperial an- nals. The Roman arms were carried further TRALL 839 than ever before or after, and rarely suffered defeat. Besides the conquests in Dacia and beyond the Euphrates, Arabia Petreea was made subject to the empire by A. Cornelius Palma, the governor of Syria. Nor were his works for the internal improvement of his dominions less important. He constructed an artificial harbor at Centum Cell (now Civita Vecchia), built the port of Ancona, made sev- eral great roads in various parts of the empire, one of which was across the Pontine marshes, and erected magnificent bridges. He founded several libraries in Rome, one of which, called Ulpia Bibliotheca, was very celebrated ; built a theatre in the Campus Martius, and also the Forum Trajanum, his great work, in, the centre of which was the column of Trajan, erected in 112. It has been alleged that he was intem- perate and licentious. Many writers doubt the magnitude of the persecution of the Christians which is said to have taken place during his reign. His correspondence with the younger Pliny, governor of Bithynia and Pontus, con- cerning the treatment of Christians, displays an unusual consideration for justice and hu- manity. In his reply to Pliny he says : " You have adopted the right course, my friend, with regard to the Christians ; for no universal rule, to be applied in all cases, can be fixed in this matter. They should not be searched for ; but when accused and convicted, they should be punished ; yet if any one denies that he has been a Christian, and proves it by action, namely, by worshipping our gods, he is to be pardoned upon his repentance, even though suspicion may still cleave to him from his ante- cedents. But anonymous accusations must not be admitted in any criminal process ; it sets a bad example and is contrary to our age." TRALL, Russell Thacher, an American physi- cian, born in Vernon, Tolland co., Conn., Aug. 5, 1812. His parents removed to western New York in his childhood. He studied medicine, and for some time practised the profession in accordance with the standard system. In 1840 he removed to New York, where in 1843 he opened a water-cure establishment ; and in 1853 he established a medical school for pupils of both sexes, called the "New York Hygeio- Therapeutic College," since removed to Flor- ence, N. J. He has edited the " Hydropathic Review " and other periodicals devoted to hy- dropathy and temperance, and has published " Hydropathic Encyclopedia " (New York, 1852); "Hydropathic Cook Book" (1854); "Prize Essay on Tobacco" (1854); "Uterine Diseases and Displacements " (1855) ; " Home Treatment for Sexual Abuses;" " The Alcoholic Controversy;" "The Complete Gymnasium" (1857); "Diseases of the Throat and Lungs" (1861) ; " Handbook of Hygienic Practice " (1865); "The True Temperance Platform" (1864); "Sexual Physiology" (1866); "Water Cure for the Million" (1867); "Digestion and Dyspepsia " (1874) ; " The Human Voice " (1874); and "Popular Physiology" (1875).