Hans Sebald Beham: The justice of Trajan (1537)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

An engraving by the German artist Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550). This piece shows a legendary episode from the life of the Roman emperor Trajan (A.D. 53 – 117). According to the story Trajan was preparing for the Dacian wars (two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia, now modern Romania). A woman confronted the emperor when was marching to war with his army. The woman was the mother of a murdered man and asked for justice. Trajan asked the woman to wait until he had returned from the war. The mother replied that Trajan might not return at all and pointed out his duty to deliver Justice. Confronted by this reply, the emperor made time to settle her case despite all the other calls on his time. This scene was often used together with other legendary scenes of Justice (together with king Solomon, Count William II of Holland, duke Herkinbald of Brabant, Holy Roman emperor Otto III, the Greek lawgiver Zaleucus, the Persian king Cambyses II etc). Engraving from 1537.