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Primary sourceArtifactAD 100

Timgad

Legio III Augusta (under Trajan) · AD 100

A Roman veteran colony in Numidia founded by Trajan in AD 100, its grid-plan street layout still preserved today.

Trajan founded this veteran colony in Numidia, naming it after his own family, as part of his frontier and colonisation policy.

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Ruins of the Roman city of Timgad in Algeria under a dramatic sky with sunburst. Rows of broken stone columns and low walls stretch across the site, with a paved street running toward a stone triumphal arch in the distance.
Ruins of Timgad, founded by Trajan around AD 100, Batna Province, Algeria.

About this source

What it is

Timgad, formally Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi, was a Roman city in what is now Algeria, founded around AD 100 by the Legio III Augusta under Trajan. Trajan named it after his mother, sister and father. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Why it matters

Timgad is one of the best-preserved examples of Roman grid-plan town design, showing how Trajan settled veteran soldiers in the provinces as part of his frontier and colonisation policy in Africa. Naming the city after his family also reveals how personal and political identity were intertwined in Roman rule.

Look closer

  • Why would an emperor name a distant colonial city after members of his own family?
  • What does the surviving grid plan tell you about Roman priorities in city planning?
  • Who would have lived in a city like this, and why were veterans settled here?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Trajan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Plan drawing of the Imperial Fora in Rome. Labeled features include Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column, Basilica Ulpia, Temple of Trajan, Libraries, Markets of Trajan, Forum of Augustus, Forum of Nerva, Temple of Peace, Forum of Caesar, and Curia, with a scale bar in metres and feet.Artifact

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Apollodorus of Damascus · c. 100-113 AD

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Panegyricus

Pliny the Younger · c. 100 AD

Front view of the Arch of Trajan in Benevento, a white marble Roman triumphal arch with carved relief panels and a long inscription on the attic, under a clear blue sky. Tourists stand on the paved square at left, and a tour bus and a small rounded shrub are visible on the right.Artifact

Secondary source

Arch of Trajan at Benevento

114-117 AD

Marble head sculpture of a man with short, combed, curled hair over the forehead, a stern brow, a straight nose, and a slight closed-mouth expression. The head rests on a plain base against a brick-colored wall.Sculpture

Primary source

Portrait of Trajan

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