WI: Decabalus Succeeds In Assassinating Trajan?

So apparently, when Trajan was preparing to invade Dacia for the second time, the Dacian ruler, Decabalus tried multiple methods to thwart his invasion. He took a roman commander hostage in an attempt to use him as a bargaining chip, but the commander took poison and died.

Following this, he attempted to assassinate Trajan. Apparently, it came close to succeeding, but Trajan was able to thwart the attempt on his life.

So my question to you fellows here at AH.com, what would happen if Trajan was assassinated by Decabalus? Would the campaign against the Dacians continue? Could Rome plunge into another civil war similar to what was seen in the year of the four emperors? How long would it be before Rome strikes again at Dacia (if at all)?
 
Huh...I didn't know about the assassination attempt. Interesting.

All I can think of right now is that, for his death, Dacia and especially Decabalus would indeed need to be punished for the cowardly act of assassinating an Emperor. He would have just made Romans really angry. Probably could have forestalled any major internal political conflict until Dacia was dealt with.
 
Top