Nerva was succeeded without incident by his adopted son Trajan , who was greeted by the Roman populace with much enthusiasm . According to Pliny the Younger , Trajan dedicated a temple in honour of Nerva , yet no trace of it has ever been found ; nor was a commemorative series of coins for the Deified Nerva issued until ten years after his death . According to Cassius Dio , however , the Guard prefect responsible for the mutiny against Nerva , Casperius Aelianus , was ' dismissed ' upon Trajan 's accession .