Arvee and welcome to Emperors of Rome, a Roman history podcast from Latrib University.

I'm your host Matt Smith and with me today is T. Corey Brennan, Professor of Classics

at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

This is episode C-L-V-I-I, Platyna.

When Trajan came to the big city, he bought his provincial wife with him.

Tana stood on the steps of Demissions Palace and promised the people of Rome that she'd

keep it real.

And from what we can tell from our ancient sources, that's exactly what she did.

He is Corey Brennan.

Trajan was from the Spanish province of Baitaca and his wife, Pompea Platina, was her

full name and was very likely from a town called Nemousis, which is modern name in

Narbini's call.

This was a very big deal because it was a dramatic enhancement of the status of provincial

elites that none had ever reached the principle before.

And so it was a turning point for Imperial Rome.

Also I'm looking at the tail end, Platyna and Trajan had no children of their own, but

they were very good at validating their own political rise and laying spectacular foundations

for a new dynasty.

And Platyna was very, very, very important for the rise of Hadrian himself.

So when you say this is a change in how Imperial elites come to power, this was the first

outside of Italy, precisely to have a Spanish emperor.

And it really is going to set the tone, of course, for the next few centuries of Roman

...