Under Trajan, members of the Roman Senate had to face facts: the republic was gone, and elements of the military were equally if not more important than them. To us, this sounds like the kind of junta or military dictatorship that rarely lasts long—but in fact, with the accession of Trajan, the Roman Empire would enter its most dominant and prosperous period; it would also be an era free from major civil wars or usurpations; but how did Trajan manage to get this most remarkable phase of the Pax Romana off on the right foot?