http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Ulpius_Traianus_(senator)

Marcus Ulpius Traianus

Marcus Ulpius Traianus Maior (c. 30 – before 100; Latin: Maior, "the elder") was a Roman senator who lived in the 1st century. He was father of the Roman Emperor Trajan.

Family

Traianus belonged to the gens Ulpia, originating from the Umbrian City of Tuder, and was born and raised in the city of Italica (modern Santiponce, near Seville, Spain) in the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica. The Ulpii lived there since 206 BC, when the town was founded by Publius Cornelius Scipio, resettling wounded and invalid veterans of the wars against Carthage. The Ulpii, like the Aelii and the Traii belonged to the leading Hispano-Roman families of the city. From the latter family came a branch of the ancestors of Traianus, which intermarried with the Ulpii, originating the cognomen Traianus. Since the father of Traianus joined the ranks of the Patricians in Rome, it is very likely that already his grandfather belonged to the Roman Senate. His mother's origin is unknown. His sister was called Ulpia, who would be the mother of praetor Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer (father of Roman Emperor Hadrian). Traianus married a Roman noblewoman called Marcia. She was the elder sister of Marcia Furnilla, the second wife of future Emperor Titus, and due to her position she could help the career of her husband. They had two children, a daughter called Ulpia Marciana and a son, the future Roman Emperor Trajan. He was the maternal grandfather to Salonina Matidia; a maternal uncle to praetor Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer and a paternal great-uncle to future Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Career

Traianus became senator possibly already under Claudius. Before 67, Traianus might have commanded a legion under the Roman General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Under Vespasian (who was the Roman Governor of Judea), Traianus commanded the tenth legion Legio X Fretensis during the First Jewish–Roman War between 67-68. During this time, he came into favor with the future emperor.

Due to his successes, Vespasian awarded Traianus with the governorship of an unknown Roman province and a consulship between 70 and 72. In later years, he served as a Roman Governor of Hispania Baetica, Syria, in 79 or 80 governed an unknown African province and then western Anatolia. During his time in Syria, Traianus prevented a Parthian invasion.

Legacy

Traianus lived in his final years in honor and distinction. Indirect evidence suggests that he may have died before his son became emperor in 98.[3] Around 100, his son Trajan had founded a colony in North Africa. This colony became a town and was called Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi (modern Timgad, Algeria). His son named this town in honor of him, his late wife and his daughter. The colony’s name is also a tribute to his sister and his paternal ancestors. In 113, Traianus was deified by his son, and his titulature reads divus Traianus pater.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Ulpius_Traianus_(senior)