Nerva and Trajan (ruled 96 – 98 AD ... Nerva faced the soldiers, offering his own life by baring his neck to their swords. The soldiers just laughed and went on to kill many of his friends ...

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.