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Nerva: Emperors
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Nerva's reign was not a dynamic period of military expansion or radical change in the government of the Empire. Actually, his economic policies, his relationship with the senate, and the men whom he chose to govern and to offer him advice all show signs of Flavian influence. In many ways, Nerva was the right man at the right time. His immediate accession following Domitian's murder prevented anarchy and a descent into civil war, while his age and moderate views were perfect attributes for a government that offered a bridge between Domitian's tyrannical reign and the emperors of the 'Golden Age' ahead.
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Though Nerva was a, if anything, a skilled politician. And he now made his most inspired move of all. As a childless emperor, his death would leave the throne vacant, unless Nerva should choose to adopt an heir. And in finding a popular heir, Nerva knew he could secure his own position.
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The man Nerva adopted was Trajan. And Trajan did become emperor when Nerva died, and he did do a good job. Trajan took the Roman army to Dacia (modern Rumania), and he conquered it. Dacia had a lot of gold mines, and so Rome became rich from all the gold. Trajan ... seems to have made Christianity illegal. Then Trajan took the army to West Asia, and he conquered a lot of land from the Parthians - all the way to Babylon, where Alexander had died! Trajan also had no sons, and he seems to have adopted his nephew as HIS son. The nephew's name was Hadrian.
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In the second year of his reign, Nerva was consul, for the third time, with L. Verginius Rufus... for the third time consul. Rufus had been proclaimed emperor by the soldiers in the time of Nero, A. D. 68, but had refused the dangerous honour. The emperor made no difficulty about associating Rufus with himself in the consulship, but Rufus was a very old man, and soon died. Calpurnius Crassus, a descendant of the Crassi of the republic, with others, conspired against the emperor, but the plot was discovered, and Nerva rebuked the conspirators by putting into their hands at a show of gladiators, the swords with which the men were going to fight, and asking the conspirators, in the usual way, if they were sharp enough. This anecdote, if true, shows that the exhibitions of gladiators were in use under Nerva. The text of Diou does not state what was the punishment of Crassus, but Victor (Epit.
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Nerva was born on 8 November, 30 A.D.[[2]] Little is known of his upbringing beyond the fact that he belonged to a senatorial family and pursued neither a military nor a public speaking career. On the other hand, he did hold various priesthoods and was a praetor-designate.[[3]] More importantly, as praetor designate in 65, Nerva was instrumental in revealing the conspiracy of Piso against the emperor Nero.
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Nerva rules fairly but never gains the full support of the army, much of which remains loyal to Domitian. Towards the end of Nerva's life, Roman generals co-operate for the first time to choose the next emperor. They force Nerva to adopt an acceptable heir from outside his own family. The result is resoundingly successful, as a Spanish-born Senator and general named Trajan becomes emperor.
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