The story of Emperor Trajan’s victory over a mighty barbarian empire isn’t just one for the books. It’s also told in 155 scenes carved in a spiral frieze on a monumental column. In back-to ...

The victory of the Roman emperor Trajan over the Dacians in back-to-back wars is carved in numerous scenes that spiral around a 126-foot marble pillar in Rome known as Trajan’s Column.

In 106 CE, under Emperor Trajan, Rome annexed this hybrid state, turning it into the province of Arabia. However, the Arab presence did not disappear; on the contrary, it expanded into neighboring ...