Changes

After a series of civil wars that had weakened the Empire, Trajan helped finance many public structures and ordered many aqueducts. He also prohibited wasteful expenditure on festivals. Trajan also initiated a series of social welfare reforms.

In modern Romania, a powerful confederation of Thracian tribes, the Dacians had proven a formidable foe and had defeated Roman governors in the past. After careful preparations, Trajan invaded Dacia and, in 101-102, reduced the Dacian kingdom to vassal status. However, in 105, the Dacians revolted, and Trajan invaded the area and, in a series of bloody campaigns, ended the revolt with the capture of the capital Sarmizegethusa (106 AD). Dacian resistance was ended with the suicide of their king and chief priest, Decalbus. Trajan organized the kingdom into a Roman Province, and he encouraged settlers from all over the Empire to settle in the new territory.<ref> Schmitz, Michael The Dacian Threat, 101–106 AD. Armidale, Australia: Caeros Pty, 2005), p 134</ref> Trajan was a restless figure, and he seems to have sought to emulate the achievements of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.<ref> Cassius Dio, Roman History, book 68, xi</ref>