Getty Museum

Drachm of Trajan

Date

about A.D. 98–117

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Roman

Department

Coins

Institution

Getty Museum

The head on the front and the horseman on the back of this drachm both depict the emperor Trajan (reigned A.D. 98-117). Although the coin's surface is very worn and the inscription is now illegible, the wreathed head of Trajan is clearly visible on one side. Originally, Trajan's name and titles in Latin--Imperator Traianus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus--were abbreviated in Greek. The last two words refer to Trajan's conquests in Germany and Dacia. On the back, Trajan is shown on horseback in military dress and with a spear in his hand. This coin was minted in the port city of Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., Alexandria was the second largest city in the Roman Empire and a center of wealth and power. Egypt became part of the Roman Empire in 30 B.C. after the Battle of Actium where Octavian (later Augustus) defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

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