Trajan, the Roman Emperor, died suddenly on August 9th 117 AD in Selinus while returning to Italy from a stroke. He had ruled for 19 years, expanding the Roman Empire significantly through military conquests. Trajan was born in 53 AD in Spain and was adopted by the previous Emperor Nerva. Despite his successes, Trajan had a simple funeral in keeping with his character, with his ashes returned to Rome for a state funeral.