Marco Ulpius Nerva Traiano (Italica, 53 - Selinunte in Cilicia, 117) was a Roman emperor, reigning from 98 to 117.
Trajan was born in the province, coming from a colony of Italics called Italica in Hispania Bætica (current Andalusia, Spain) where the Gens Ulpia to which he belonged had moved from Umbria, in particular from Todi. Valent military and popular commander, he was adopted by Nerva in 97, succeeding him two years later.
Already exalted by contemporaries and remembered by ancient historians as Optimus princeps or the best among the Roman emperors, by many modern and expert historians he is considered, by virtue of his work and great skills as a general, administrator and politician, as one of the statesmen most complete and thrifty in history, and one of the best Roman emperors.
He had become an important general during the reign of the emperor Domitian, whose last years were marked by continuous persecutions and executions of Roman senators. In September 96, after the assassination of Domitian, an old senator without children, Nerva, ascended the throne, but immediately proved unpopular with the army. After a short and tumultuous year in power, the opposition of the Praetorian guard had weakened his power, so much so that he was forced to defend his role as princeps by adopting the most popular of the generals of the moment, Trajan, and appointing him his heir and successor. . Nerva died shortly after, at the end of January 98, leaving the empire to Trajan.

Source: Wikipedia