Traja'nus
comes, a general of the emperor Valens. In A. D. 373 he conducted the war against the Persians, and defeated Sapor with great slaughter.
He spent the winter with Valens at Antioch, and in the following year (374) was sent into Armenia, with secret orders to put to death Para the king of Armenia, who was an ally of the Romans, but was distrusted by the emperor. On his arrival in Armenia, Trajan invited Para to a banquet, where he was treacherously murdered by the Roman soldiers. [ARSACIDAE, p. 364. a.] In A. D. 377 the Goths rose in arms, and laid waste Thrace and the surrounding countries. Gratian sent Richomir at the head of a large army to stop their ravages, and Valens despatched forces under the command of Trajan and Profuturus.
These three generals fought a battle with the Goths, which lasted from the morning to the evening, without any decisive advantage being gained on either side, according to Ammianus Marcellinus.
It would appear, however, that the Romans suffered most, and Theodoret even speaks of the defeat of Trajan.
In the following year (378) at all events the Goths assumed the offensive. Valens was so displeased with the conduct of Trajan in the late campaign, that he deprived him of his command as general of the infantry, and conferred it upon Sebastianus, The emperor, however, recalled him to the army shortly afterwards, and he fell in the course of the same year at the fatal battle of Adrianople, in which Valens himself perished. August 9th, 378. [VALENS.] Trajan continued firm in the Catholic faith, although he served an Arian master, and accordingly his praises have been celebrated by the ecclesiastical writers. (
Amm. Marc. 29.1,
30.1,
31.7,
13; Theodoret. 4.30 ; Basil,
Ep. 376. 377 ; Tillemont,
Histoire des Empereurs, vol. v.)
