The Pax Romana, and especially its period of five good emperors, is often thought of as a continuous period of peaceful and uncontroversial transitions of power. But, as we’ve seen on this podcast, there is far more to the story than that. Today’s topic is emblematic of the Pax Romana’s strange dissonance between superficial peace and its subtle undercurrents of intrigue and scandal. When Trajan died, and his successor took over, every effort was made to give the transition of power a planned and predicted character. But a deep dive into the source material reveals some inconsistencies and mysteries, and even a few murders.