From the publisher's website:

In ancient Rome, a citizen’s status is everything. Will you allow yourself to meddle with the commonwealth, or will you seize the opportunity to become one of the Roman elite? Trajan is a game about building your influence across all facets of Roman culture, showing that you are not only a silver-tongued negotiator, but also a skilled trader and military leader. Of course you will have to navigate the ever-choppy political waters of the Roman Senate, anticipating the needs of the people and gaining influence over the senators to sway votes in your favor. You aren’t the only sophisticate trying to climb the political ladder, and to ignore them is to seal your own fate. Trajan, in addition to being a straight-forward design, is designed to be language-neutral. This means that just about anyone can sit down and play it.