Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus
Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus was Roman emperor in 117–138. He was born on 24 January 76; his family came from Italica in Spain, while his birthplace remains discussed. He died on 10 July 138 at Baiae near Naples in Italy, not in Spain.
Hadrian favoured consolidation and administration over continued eastern conquests. He travelled extensively and supported building, including frontier defences. In his titulature, tribunicia potestas refers to tribunician powers and a repeated imperator to a military acclamation, not another accession.
Bust of Marcus Aurelius,2nd century ADBefore becoming emperor
Hadrian was the son of Roman senator Publius Aelius Afer, whose grandparents had moved from Hadria in Italy to Italica in Spain in Scipio's time, and Domitia Paulina. Hadrian's father was a praetor in Rome, and died when Hadrian was ten years old. Hadrian was raised under the care of a kinsman Trajan, whose sister's granddaughter he married in 100 AD. Hadrian was the first to inform Trajan, who was in the Colony of Agrippina, of Nerva's death. He fought in the wars with Decebalus, was twice awarded for bravery, and was elected to the senate. During the second campaign against the Dacians, Hadrian fought with Sarmatians. In the 108th year he became consul. A few years later, he fought in Armenia and Mesopotamia, being a legate at Trajan's headquarters, but did not do anything outstanding. However, when the governor of Syria was sent to Dacia in 117 to quell the riots that had arisen there, Hadrian was appointed his deputy, which gave him an independent command over troops. Trajan, who was seriously ill by that time, decided to return to Rome, but only reached the Cilician city of Selinuntes, where illness prevented him from moving on. He was cared for by his wife, Plotina, one of the supporters of Hadrian, who was one of the obvious candidates to succeed Trajan, but was not formally adopted by him. The dying Trajan adopted Hadrian, but since the document was signed by Plotina, it is assumed that Trajan was already dead by this time. Hadrian learned of Trajan's death on August 11,117, and the Syrian legions proclaimed him emperor, but he was forced to stay in Syria for some time, as the difficult situation there required it. Excerpt from the book "The Historia Augusta": "He was tall, distinguished by external grace, curled his hair with a comb, grew a beard to hide the natural flaws of the face, had a strong build. He rode and walked a great deal, always doing exercises with a weapon and a spear. When hunting, he often killed lions with his own hands. While hunting, he broke his collarbone and rib." Hadrian didn't have any children of his own. Hadrian's greatest love was the young Antinous. Hadrian met Antinous in 124, when he was traveling through the province of Bithynia in northeastern Asia Minor. Since the year 128, the young man was constantly with the emperor. In 130 AD, while they were in Egypt, Antinous drowned in the Nile. The circumstances of the tragedy were mysterious and gave rise to many rumors. It is known for certain that Hadrian's grief was inconsolable and he ordered the priests to deify Antinous. On the site of the death of his favorite, Hadrian founded the city of Antinoopolis(Antinoopolis), where games were held every year in honor of the young god.
Governance
Hadrian's policy was very different from Trajan's policy of conquest. First of all, Hadrian gave up Assyria and Mesopotamia, returning them to the Parthians. Armenia also left the provinces and was considered only a protectorate of Rome. Having solved all the problems in the East, the emperor left Antioch in the autumn of 117. But he did not go to Rome, but to the lower Danube, where it was necessary to resolve claims of the Roxolani, who violated the borders of Dacia. Messengers from the capital arrived with the news that a conspiracy led by Lucius Quietus and Trajan's associates had been discovered in Italy. Soon, Quiet himself was executed. But the fears that Hadrian would rule in the spirit of Nero or Caligula were not justified. Hadrian arrived in Rome in the summer of 118, and was received with great honor. In addition to the traditional magnificent pageantry, a posthumous triumph for Trajan, whose statue stood on a chariot, was also arranged in honor of Hadrian. Hadrian stayed in the capital for three years, after which he set out on his first journey — to Gaul and the provinces along the Upper Rhine and Danube. In the triangle between these rivers, the emperor reinforced a system of fortifications. The following year, he traveled to Britain, where work began on the construction of Hadrian's Wall. In 122, the emperor returned to Gaul. In the south, in Nemaus, he erected a temple in honor of the Empress Pompeia Plotina, who had recently died. Hadrian spent the winter of 122-123 in Spain, then went to Africa, to Mauritania. There he received news of the impending war between Rome and Parthia, and hurried to the scene. Hadrian managed to defuse the situation through negotiations, but was forced to stay there until 124 years. He visited Antioch and Palmyra. In 124, the emperor toured the Balkan provinces of Rome and founded the city of Adrianople in Thrace. In the winter of 124-125, Hadrian decided to spend time in Athens. The following year, he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. Hadrian returned to Italy via Sicily, where he climbed Mount Etna and watched the sunrise. The emperor stayed in Rome until the summer of 128, and then went back to Africa. In Numidia, he inspected a military camp and observed infantry and cavalry exercises. Then he went through Asia Minor to Syria, where he climbed Mount Cassius. In 130 AD, Hadrian visited Jerusalem, which had been in ruins since 70 AD, and decided to build a city on this site called Colonia Aelia Capitolina, and on the site of the temple of Solomon to erect a temple in honor of Jupiter Capitoline. Then the emperor's way lay to Egypt, where his favorite Antinous drowned in the Nile. On November 21,130, Hadrian visited the monument of the singing Memnon. The return trip passed through Syria and Asia Minor. When Hadrian was about to leave Athens for Rome, he received news of a new Jewish uprising, which was suppressed with great difficulty.
Coin with the face of Hadrian,2nd century AD.Hadrian supported cities and Greek culture. His reign saw the rebuilding of Rome’s Pantheon and construction of the Temple of Venus and Roma, his mausoleum and the villa at Tibur; the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Athens was completed. Consular judges received responsibilities in Italy, and imperial services increasingly relied on equestrians.
The jurist Salvius Julianus revised the praetorian edict on imperial commission. This was not a codification of all Roman law in the later Justinianic sense.
Frontier consolidation included Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, begun in 122, and works along the Rhine–Danube frontier. Provincial army recruitment predated Hadrian and continued under him. Military organisation differed across regions.
The major war of his reign was the Bar Kokhba revolt in Judaea in 132–135. Additional troops and Sextus Julius Severus were brought in to suppress it. Romans progressively blockaded rebel strongholds; warfare caused severe destruction and loss of life. Cassius Dio’s figures of 580,000 dead, 50 strongholds and 985 villages are an ancient author’s report, not verified demographic statistics. Rebel control of Jerusalem remains debated.
Before his death Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius and stipulated arrangements for subsequent succession. He died at Baiae in 138.
Borders of the Empire during the reign of HadrianRelated topics
Literature and sources
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