RATIONES RERUM 18: Articolo Federico Frasson

Descrizione

Rationes Rerum 18

FEDERICO FRASSON
Traiano e i dona militaria per le expeditiones Dacicae

The inscriptions not only confirm the great liberality with which Trajan bestowed dona militaria for the Dacian wars on officers and soldiers from Italy, but also show that these rewards affected individuals of very different statuses, albeit in different ways related to their rank. They also provide important information on the career of the senators, who constituted Trajan’s high command in Dacia, and shed light on the cursus of the equites, the non-commissioned officers, and the common soldiers, who often, also thanks to the prestige derived from the dona, were able to obtain important positions once they returned home. With due caution, it is also possible to hypothesize the theaters of battle in which the officers and decorated soldiers operated during the Dacian wars. Moreover, some of the inscriptions examined prove that units of the Praetorian cohorts took part in Trajan’s military operations in Dacia.