Hadrian

This article is about the Roman emperor. For other uses, seeHadrian (disambiguation).

Hadrian
Bust of Hadrian,c. 130
Roman emperor
Reign	11 August 117 – 10 July 138
Predecessor	Trajan
Successor	Antoninus Pius
Born	Publius Aelius Hadrianus 24 January 76 Italica,Hispania Baetica,Roman Empire (present-daySantiponce,Spain)
Died	10 July 138 (aged 62) Baiae,Italia,Roman Empire
Burial	Puteoli Gardens of Domitia Hadrian's Mausoleum
Spouse	Vibia Sabina
Adoptive children	Lucius Aelius Caesar Antoninus Pius
Regnal name Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus
Dynasty	Nerva–Antonine
Father	Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer Trajan (adoptive)
Mother	Domitia Paulina
Religion	Hellenistic religion

Hadrian(/ˈheɪdriən/HAY-dree-ən;Latin:Publius Aelius Hadrianus[(h)adriˈjaːnus];24 January 76 – 10 July 138) wasRoman emperorfrom 117 to 138. Hadrian was born inItalica,close to modernSevillein Spain, anItalic settlementinHispania Baetica;his branch of theAeliagens,theAeli Hadriani,came from the town ofHadriain eastern Italy. He was a member of theNerva-Antonine dynasty.

Early in his political career, Hadrian marriedVibia Sabina,grandnieceof the ruling emperor,Trajan.The marriage and Hadrian's later succession as emperor were probably promoted by Trajan's wifePompeia Plotina.Soon after his own succession, Hadrian had four leading senators unlawfully put to death, probably because they seemed to threaten the security of his reign; this earned him the senate's lifelong enmity. He earned further disapproval by abandoning Trajan's expansionist policies and territorial gains inMesopotamia,Assyria,Armenia,and parts ofDacia.Hadrian preferred to invest in the development of stable, defensible borders and the unification of the empire's disparate peoples as subjects of apanhellenic empire,led by Rome.

Hadrian energetically pursued his own Imperial ideals and personal interests. He visited almost every province of the Empire, and indulged a preference for direct intervention in imperial and provincial affairs, especially building projects. He is particularly known for buildingHadrian's Wall,which marked the northern limit ofBritannia.In Rome itself, he rebuilt thePantheonand constructed the vastTemple of Venus and Roma.In Egypt, he may have rebuilt theSerapeum of Alexandria.As an ardent admirer of Greek culture, he promoted Athens as the cultural capital of the Empire. His intense relationship with Greek youthAntinousand the latter's untimely death led Hadrian to establish a widespread, popular cult. Late in Hadrian's reign, he suppressed theBar Kokhba revolt;he saw this rebellion as a failure of his panhellenic ideal.

Hadrian's last years were marred by chronic illness. His marriage had been both unhappy and childless. In 138 he adoptedAntoninus Piusand nominated him as a successor, on condition that Antoninus adoptMarcus AureliusandLucius Verusas his own heirs. Hadrian died the same year atBaiae,and Antoninus had him deified, despite opposition from the Senate. Later historians counted him as one of Rome's so-called "Five Good Emperors",and as a"benevolent dictator".His own Senate found him remote and authoritarian. He has been described as enigmatic and contradictory, with a capacity for both great personal generosity and extreme cruelty and driven by insatiable curiosity, conceit, and ambition.

Early life

Hadrian's Archin centralAthens,Greece.Hadrian's admiration for Greece materialised in such projects ordered during his reign.

Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born on 24 January 76, inItalica(modernSantiponce,nearSeville), a Roman town founded by Italic settlers in the province ofHispania Baeticaduring theSecond Punic Warat the initiative ofScipio Africanus;Hadrian's branch of the gens Aelia came from Hadria (modernAtri), an ancient town in thePicenumregion of Italia, the source of the nameHadrianus.One Roman biographer claims instead that Hadrian was born inRome,but this view is held by a minority of scholars.

Hadrian's father wasPublius Aelius Hadrianus Afer,asenatorofpraetorianrank, born and raised in Italica. Hadrian's mother wasDomitia Paulina,daughter of a distinguished Roman senatorial family based in Gades (Cádiz).His only sibling was an elder sister,Aelia Domitia Paulina.Hiswet nursewas the slave Germana, probably of Germanic origin, to whom he was devoted throughout his life. She was later freed by him and ultimately outlived him, as shown by her funerary inscription, which was found atHadrian's VillaatTivoli.Hadrian's great-nephew,Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator,fromBarcino(Barcelona) would become Hadrian's colleague as co-consul in 118. As a senator, Hadrian's father would have spent much of his time in Rome.In terms of his later career, Hadrian's most significant family connection was toTrajan,his father'sfirst cousin,who was also of senatorial stock and a native of Italica. Although they were considered to be, in the words ofAurelius Victor,advenae( "aliens", people "from the outside" ), both Trajan and Hadrian were of Italic lineage and belonged to the upper class of Roman society. One author has proposed to consider them part of the "Ulpio-Aeliandynasty ".

Hadrian's parents died in 86 when he was ten years old. He and his sister became wards of Trajan andPublius Acilius Attianus(who later became Trajan'sPraetorian prefect).Hadrian was physically active and enjoyed hunting; when he was 14, Trajan called him to Rome and arranged his furthereducationin subjects appropriate to a young Romanaristocrat.Hadrian's enthusiasm forGreek literatureand culture earned him the nicknameGraeculus( "Greekling" ), intended as a form of "mild mockery".

Public service

Hadrian's first official post in Rome was as a member of thedecemviri stlitibus judicandis,one among manyvigintivirateoffices at the lowest level of thecursus honorum( "course of honours" ) that could lead to higher office and a senatorial career. He then served as amilitary tribune,first with theLegioIIAdiutrixin 95, then with theLegio V Macedonica.During Hadrian's second stint as tribune, the frail and aged reigning emperorNervaadopted Trajan as his heir; Hadrian was dispatched to give Trajan the news – or most probably was one of many emissaries charged with this same commission.Then Hadrian was transferred toLegio XXII Primigeniaand a third tribunate.Hadrian's three tribunates gave him some career advantage. Most scions of the older senatorial families might serve one, or at most two, military tribunates as a prerequisite to higher office.When Nerva died in 98, Hadrian is said to have hastened to Trajan, to inform him ahead of the official envoy sent by the governor, Hadrian's brother-in-law and rival Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus.

In 101, Hadrian was back in Rome; he was electedquaestor,thenquaestor imperatoris Traiani,liaison officer between Emperor and the assembled Senate, to whom he read the Emperor's communiqués and speeches – which he possibly composed on the emperor's behalf. In his role as imperialghostwriter,Hadrian took the place of the recently deceased Licinius Sura, Trajan's all-powerful friend and kingmaker.His next post was asab actis senatus,keeping the Senate's records.During theFirst Dacian War,Hadrian took the field as a member of Trajan's personal entourage, but was excused from his military post to take office in Rome astribune of the plebs,in 105. After the war, he was probably electedpraetor.During theSecond Dacian War,Hadrian was in Trajan's personal service again. He was released to serve aslegateofLegio I Minervia,then as governor ofLower Pannoniain 107, tasked with "holding back theSarmatians".Between 107 and 108, Hadrian defeated an invasion of Roman-controlledBanatandOlteniaby theIazyges.The exact terms of the peace treaty are not known. It is believed the Romans kept Oltenia in exchange for some form of concession, likely involving a one-time tribute payment.The Iazyges also took possession of Banat around this time, which may have been part of the treaty.

Now in his mid-thirties, Hadrian travelled to Greece; he was granted Athenian citizenship and was appointedeponymous archonof Athens for a brief time (in 112).The Athenians awarded him a statue with an inscription in theTheatre of Dionysus(IGII2 3286) offering a detailed account of hiscursus honorumthus far.Thereafter, no more is heard of him untilTrajan's Parthian campaign.It is possible that he remained in Greece until his recall to the imperial retinue,when he joined Trajan's expedition againstParthiaas a legate.When the governor ofSyriawas sent to deal with renewed troubles in Dacia, Hadrian was appointed his replacement, with independent command.Trajan became seriously ill, and took ship for Rome, while Hadrian remained in Syria,de factogeneral commander of the Eastern Roman army.Trajan got as far as the coastal city ofSelinus,inCilicia,and died there on 8 August 117; he would be regarded as one of Rome's most admired, popular and best emperors.

Relationship with Trajan and his family

Around the time of his quaestorship, in 100 or 101, Hadrian had married Trajan's seventeen- or eighteen-year-old grandniece,Vibia Sabina.Trajan himself seems to have been less than enthusiastic about the marriage, and with good reason, as the couple's relationship would prove to be scandalously poor.The marriage might have been arranged by Trajan's empress, Plotina. This highly cultured, influential woman shared many of Hadrian's values and interests, including the idea of the Roman Empire as a commonwealth with an underlying Hellenic culture.If Hadrian were to be appointed Trajan's successor, Plotina and her extended family could retain their social profile and political influence after Trajan's death.Hadrian could also count on the support of his mother-in-law,Salonia Matidia,who was the daughter of Trajan's beloved sisterUlpia Marciana.When Ulpia Marciana died in 112, Trajan had herdeified,and made Salonia Matidia anAugusta.

Bust of EmperorTrajan;Musée Saint-Raymond,Toulouse

Hadrian's personal relationship withTrajanwas complex and may have been difficult. Hadrian seems to have sought influence over Trajan, or Trajan's decisions, through cultivation of the latter's boy favourites; this gave rise to some unexplained quarrel, around the time of Hadrian's marriage to Sabina.Late in Trajan's reign, Hadrian failed to achieve a senior consulship, being only suffect consul for 108;this gave him parity of status with other members of the senatorial nobility,but no particular distinction befitting an heir designate.Had Trajan wished it, he could have promoted his protege topatricianrank and its privileges, which included opportunities for a fast track to consulship without prior experience as tribune; he chose not to.While Hadrian seems to have been granted the office of tribune of the plebs a year or so younger than was customary, he had to leave Dacia, and Trajan, to take up the appointment; Trajan might simply have wanted him out of the way.TheHistoria Augustadescribes Trajan's gift to Hadrian of a diamond ring that Trajan himself had received fromNerva,which "encouraged [Hadrian's] hopes of succeeding to the throne".While Trajan actively promoted Hadrian's advancement, he did so with caution.

Succession

Failure to nominate an heir could invite chaotic, destructive wresting of power by a succession of competing claimants – a civil war. Too early a nomination could be seen as an abdication and reduce the chance for an orderly transmission of power.As Trajan lay dying, nursed by his wife, Plotina, and closely watched by Prefect Attianus, he could have lawfully adopted Hadrian as heir by means of a simple deathbed wish, expressed before witnesses;but when an adoption document was eventually presented, it was signed not by Trajan but by Plotina.That Hadrian was still in Syria was a further irregularity, as Roman adoption law required the presence of both parties at the adoption ceremony. Rumours, doubts, and speculation attended Hadrian's adoption and succession. It has been suggested that Trajan's young manservant Phaedimus, who died very soon after Trajan, was killed (or killed himself) rather than face awkward questions.Ancient sources are divided on the legitimacy of Hadrian's adoption:Cassius Diosaw it as bogus and theHistoria Augustawriter as genuine.Anaureusminted early in Hadrian's reign represents the official position; it presents Hadrian as Trajan's "Caesar"(Trajan's heir designate).

Emperor (117)

Securing power

The Roman Empire in 125, under the rule of Hadrian

According to theHistoria Augusta,Hadrian informed the Senate of his accession in a letter as afait accompli,explaining that "the unseemly haste of the troops in acclaiming him emperor was due to the belief that the state could not be without an emperor".The new emperor rewarded the legions' loyalty with the customarybonus,and the Senate endorsed the acclamation. Various public ceremonies were organised on Hadrian's behalf, celebrating his "divine election" by all the gods, whose community now included Trajan, deified at Hadrian's request.

Hadrian remained in the east for a while, suppressingthe Jewish revolt that had broken out under Trajan.He relieved Judea's governor, the outstanding Moorish generalLusius Quietus,of his personal guard of Moorish auxiliaries; then he moved on to quell disturbances along theDanubefrontier. In Rome, Hadrian's former guardian and currentpraetorian prefect,Attianus, claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy involving Lusius Quietus and three other leading senators, Lucius Publilius Celsus, Aulus Cornelius Palma Frontonianus and Gaius Avidius Nigrinus.There was no public trial for the four – they were triedin absentia,hunted down and killed.Hadrian claimed that Attianus had acted on his own initiative, and rewarded him with senatorial status and consular rank; then pensioned him off, no later than 120.Hadrian assured the senate that henceforth their ancient right to prosecute and judge their own would be respected.

The reasons for these four executions remain obscure. Official recognition of Hadrian as a legitimate heir may have come too late to dissuade other potential claimants.Hadrian's greatest rivals were Trajan's closest friends, the most experienced and senior members of the imperial council;any of them might have been a legitimate competitor for the imperial office (capaces imperii);and any of them might have supported Trajan's expansionist policies, which Hadrian intended to change.One of their number wasAulus Cornelius Palmawho as a former conqueror ofArabia Nabateawould have retained a stake in the East.TheHistoria Augustadescribes Palma and a third executed senator, Lucius Publilius Celsus (consul for the second time in 113), as Hadrian's personal enemies, who had spoken in public against him.The fourth wasGaius Avidius Nigrinus,an ex-consul, intellectual, friend ofPliny the Youngerand (briefly) Governor of Dacia at the start of Hadrian's reign. He was probably Hadrian's chief rival for the throne; a senator of the highest rank, breeding, and connections; according to theHistoria Augusta,Hadrian had considered making Nigrinus his heir apparent before deciding to get rid of him.

Adenariusof Hadrian issued in 119 AD for his thirdconsulship.Inscription: HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS / LIBERALITAS AVG. CO[N]S III, P. P.

Soon after, in 125, Hadrian appointedQuintus Marcius Turboas his Praetorian Prefect.Turbo was his close friend, a leading figure of the equestrian order, a senior court judge and aprocurator.As Hadrian also forbade equestrians to try cases against senators,the Senate retained full legal authority over its members; it also remained the highest court of appeal, and formal appeals to the emperor regarding its decisions were forbidden.If this was an attempt to repair the damage done by Attianus, with or without Hadrian's full knowledge, it was not enough; Hadrian's reputation and relationship with his Senate were irredeemably soured, for the rest of his reign.Some sources describe Hadrian's occasional recourse to a network of informers, thefrumentarii,to discreetly investigate persons of high social standing, including senators and his close friends.

Travels

This statue of Hadrian in Greek dress was revealed in 2008 to have been forged in theVictorian eraby cobbling together a head of Hadrian and an unknown body. For years, the statue had been used by historians as proof of Hadrian's love of Hellenic culture.
British Museum,London.

Hadrian was to spend more than half his reign outside Italy. Whereas previous emperors had, for the most part, relied on the reports of their imperial representatives around the Empire, Hadrian wished to see things for himself. Previous emperors had often left Rome for long periods, but mostly to go to war, returning once the conflict was settled. Hadrian's near-incessant travels may represent a calculated break with traditions and attitudes in which the empire was a purely Roman hegemony. Hadrian sought to include provincials in a commonwealth of civilised peoples and a common Hellenic culture under Roman supervision.He supported the creation of provincial towns (municipia), semi-autonomous urban communities with their own customs and laws, rather than the imposition of new Romancolonieswith Roman constitutions.

A cosmopolitan, ecumenical intent is evident in coin issues of Hadrian's later reign, showing the emperor "raising up" the personifications of various provinces.Aelius Aristideswould later write that Hadrian "extended over his subjects a protecting hand, raising them as one helps fallen men on their feet".All this did not go well with Roman traditionalists. The self-indulgent emperorNerohad enjoyed a prolonged and peaceful tour of Greece and had been criticised by the Roman elite for abandoning his fundamental responsibilities as emperor. In the eastern provinces, and to some extent in the west, Nero had enjoyed popular support; claims of his imminentreturn or rebirthemerged almost immediately after his death. Hadrian may have consciously exploited these positive, popular connections during his own travels.In theHistoria Augusta,Hadrian is described as "a little too much Greek", too cosmopolitan for a Roman emperor.

Britannia and the West (122)

Main article:Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall,the Roman frontier fortification in northern England.
Amilecastleis in the foreground.

Prior to Hadrian's arrival inBritannia,the province had suffered a major rebellion from 119 to 121.Inscriptions tell of anexpeditio Britannicathat involved major troop movements, including the dispatch of a detachment (vexillatio), comprising some 3,000 soldiers. Fronto writes about military losses in Britannia at the time.Coin legends of 119–120 attest thatQuintus Pompeius Falcowas sent to restore order. In 122 Hadrian initiated the construction of a wall "to separate Romans from barbarians".The idea that the wall was built in order to deal with an actual threat or its resurgence, however, is probable but nevertheless conjectural.A general desire to cease the Empire's extension may have been the determining motive. Reduction of defence costs may also have played a role, as the Wall deterred attacks on Roman territory at a lower cost than a massed border army,and controlled cross-border trade and immigration.A shrine was erected in York to Britannia as the divinepersonification of Britain;coins were struck, bearing her image, identified as Britannia.By the end of 122, Hadrian had concluded his visit to Britannia. He never saw the finishedwall that bears his name.

Hadrian appears to have continued through southern Gaul. AtNemausus,he may have overseen the building of abasilicadedicated to his patroness Plotina, who had recently died in Rome and had been deified at Hadrian's request.At around this time, Hadrian dismissed his secretaryab epistulis,the biographerSuetonius,for "excessive familiarity" towards the empress.Marcius Turbo's colleague as praetorian prefect,Gaius Septicius Clarus,was dismissed for the same alleged reason, perhaps a pretext to remove him from office.Hadrian spent the winter of 122/123 atTarraco,in Spain, where he restored the Temple ofAugustus.

Africa, Parthia (123)

In 123, Hadrian crossed the Mediterranean toMauretania,where he personally led a minor campaign against local rebels.The visit was cut short by reports of war preparations by Parthia; Hadrian quickly headed eastwards. At some point, he visitedCyrene,where he personally funded the training of young men from well-bred families for the Roman military. Cyrene had benefited earlier in Hadrian's reign (in 119) from his restoration of public buildings destroyed during the earlier, Trajanic Jewish revolt.Birley describes this kind of investment as "characteristic of Hadrian".

Anatolia; Antinous (123–124)

When Hadrian arrived on theEuphrates,he personally negotiated a settlement with the Parthian KingOsroes I,inspected the Roman defences, then set off westwards, along the Black Sea coast.He probably wintered inNicomedia,the main city ofBithynia.Nicomedia had been hit by an earthquake only shortly before his stay; Hadrian provided funds for its rebuilding and was acclaimed as restorer of the province.

Bust of AntinousfromPatras,(National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

It is possible that Hadrian visitedClaudiopolisand saw the beautifulAntinous,a young man of humble birth who became Hadrian's lover. Literary and epigraphic sources say nothing of when or where they met; depictions of Antinous show him aged 20 or so, shortly before his death in 130. In 123 he would most likely have been a youth of 13 or 14.It is also possible that Antinous was sent to Rome to be trained as a page to serve the emperor and only gradually rose to the status of imperial favourite.The actual historical detail of their relationship is mostly unknown.

With or without Antinous, Hadrian travelled throughAnatolia.Various traditions suggest his presence at particular locations and allege his foundation of a city within Mysia,Hadrianutherae,after a successful boar hunt. At about this time, plans to complete the Temple of Zeus inCyzicus,begun by the kings ofPergamon,were put into practice. The temple received a colossal statue of Hadrian. Cyzicus,Pergamon,Smyrna,EphesusandSardeswere promoted as regional centres for theimperial cult(neocoros).

Greece (124–125)

Hadrian arrived in Greece during the autumn of 124 and participated in theEleusinian Mysteries.He had a particular commitment to Athens, which had previously granted him citizenship and anarchonate;at the Athenians' request, he revised their constitution – among other things, he added a newphyle(tribe), which was named after him.Hadrian combined active, hands-on interventions with cautious restraint. He refused to intervene in a local dispute between producers ofolive oiland the AthenianAssemblyandCouncil,who had imposed production quotas on oil producers;yet he granted an imperial subsidy for the Athenian grain supply.Hadrian created twofoundationsto fund Athens' public games, festivals and competitions if no citizen proved wealthy or willing enough to sponsor them as aGymnasiarchorAgonothetes.Generally Hadrian preferred that Greek notables, including priests of the imperial cult, focus on more essential and durable provisions, especiallymunerasuch as aqueducts and public fountains (nymphaea).Athens was given twonymphaea;one brought water from Mount Parnes to theAthenia Agoravia a complex, challenging and ambitious system of aqueduct tunnels and reservoirs, to be constructed over several years.Several were given to Argos, to remedy a water-shortage so severe and so long-standing that "thirsty Argos" featured in Homeric epic.

TheTemple of Olympian Zeus, Athens,completed under Emperor Hadrian in 131.

During that winter, Hadrian toured thePeloponnese.His exact route is uncertain, but it took inEpidaurus;Pausaniasdescribes temples built there by Hadrian, and his statue – inheroic nudity– erected by its citizensin thanks to their "restorer". Antinous and Hadrian may have already been lovers at this time; Hadrian showed particular generosity toMantinea,which shared ancient, mythic, politically useful links with Antinous' home at Bithynia. He restored Mantinea's Temple ofPoseidon Hippios,and according to Pausanias, restored the city's original, classical name. It had been renamed Antigoneia since Hellenistic times, after the Macedonian KingAntigonus III Doson.Hadrian also rebuilt the ancient shrines ofAbaeandMegara,and theHeraion of Argos.

During his tour of the Peloponnese, Hadrian persuaded theSpartangrandee Eurycles Herculanus – leader of theEuryclidfamily that had ruled Sparta since Augustus' day – to enter the Senate, alongside the Athenian grandeeHerodes Atticus the Elder.The two aristocrats would be the first from "Old Greece" to enter the Roman Senate, as representatives of Sparta and Athens, traditional rivals and "great powers" of the Classical Age.This was an important step in overcoming Greek notables' reluctance to take part in Roman political life.In March 125, Hadrian presided at the Athenian festival ofDionysia,wearing Athenian dress. TheTemple of Olympian Zeushad been under construction for more than five centuries; Hadrian committed the vast resources at his command to ensure that the job would be finished.

Return to Italy and trip to Africa (126–128)

Colossalportrait bustof the emperor Hadrian with awreath of oak leaves(AD 117–138);Pentelic marble,found inAthens,National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Hadrian in armour, wearing thegorgoneionon hisbreastplate;marble, Roman artwork,c. 127–128 AD, fromHeraklion,Crete,now in theLouvre,Paris

On his return to Italy, Hadrian made a detour toSicily.Coins celebrate him as the restorer of the island.Back in Rome, he saw the rebuilt Pantheon and his completed villa at nearbyTibur,among theSabine Hills.In early March 127 Hadrian set off on a tour of Italy; his route has been reconstructed through the evidence of his gifts and donations.He restored the shrine ofCuprainCupra Maritimaand improved the drainage of theFucine lake.Less welcome than such largesse was his decision in 127 to divide Italy into four regions under imperial legates with consular rank, acting as governors. They were given jurisdiction over all of Italy, excluding Rome itself, therefore shifting Italian cases from the courts of Rome.Having Italy effectively reduced to the status of a group of mere provinces did not go down well with the Roman Senate,and the innovation did not long outlive Hadrian's reign.

Hadrian fell ill around this time; whatever the nature of his illness, it did not stop him from setting off in the spring of 128 to visit Africa. His arrival coincided with the good omen of rain, which ended a drought. Along with his usual role as benefactor and restorer, he found time to inspect the troops; his speech to them survives.Hadrian returned to Italy in the summer of 128, but his stay was brief, as he set off on another tour that would last three years.

Greece, Asia, and Egypt (128–130); Antinous's death

In September 128, Hadrian attended theEleusinian Mysteriesagain. This time his visit to Greece seems to have concentrated on Athens andSparta– the two ancient rivals for dominance of Greece. Hadrian had played with the idea of focusing his Greek revival around theAmphictyonic Leaguebased in Delphi, but by now he had decided on something far grander. His newPanhellenionwas going to be a council that would bring Greek cities together. Having set in motion the preparations – deciding whose claim to be a Greek city was genuine would take time – Hadrian set off for Ephesus.From Greece, Hadrian proceeded by way of Asia to Egypt, probably conveyed across the Aegean with his entourage by an Ephesian merchant, Lucius Erastus. Hadrian later sent a letter to the Council of Ephesus, supporting Erastus as a worthy candidate for town councillor and offering to pay the requisite fee.

Gateway of Hadrianus inPhilae

Hadrian arrived in Egypt before the Egyptian New Year on 29 August 130.He opened his stay in Egypt by restoringPompey the Great's tomb atPelusium,offering sacrifice to him as aheroand composing anepigraphfor the tomb. As Pompey was universally acknowledged as responsible for establishing Rome's power in the east, this restoration was probably linked to a need to reaffirm Roman Eastern hegemony following social unrest there during Trajan's late reign.Hadrian and Antinous held a lion hunt in the Libyan desert; a poem on the subject by the Greek Pankrates is the earliest evidence that they travelled together.

While Hadrian and his entourage were sailing on theNile,Antinous drowned. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are unknown, and accident, suicide, murder and religious sacrifice have all been postulated.Historia Augustaoffers the following account:

During a journey on the Nile he lost Antinous, his favourite, and for this youth he wept like a woman. Concerning this incident there are varying rumours; for some claim that he had devoted himself to death for Hadrian, and others – what both his beauty and Hadrian's sensuality suggest. But however this may be, the Greeks deified him at Hadrian's request, and declared that oracles were given through his agency, but these, it is commonly asserted, were composed by Hadrian himself.

Hadrian founded the city ofAntinoöpolisin Antinous' honour on 30 October 130. He then continued down the Nile toThebes,where his visit to theColossi of Memnonon 20 and 21 November was commemorated by four epigrams inscribed byJulia Balbilla.After that, he headed north, reaching theFayyumat the beginning of December.

Greece and the East (130–132)

Arch of HadrianinJerash,Transjordan,built to honour Hadrian's visit in 130

Hadrian's movements after his journey down the Nile are uncertain. Whether or not he returned to Rome, he travelled in the East during 130–131, to organise and inaugurate his newPanhellenion,which was to be focused on theAthenian Temple to Olympian Zeus.As local conflicts had led to the failure of the previous scheme for a Hellenic association centered on Delphi, Hadrian decided instead for a grand league of all Greek cities.Successful applications for membership involved mythologised or fabricated claims to Greek origins, and affirmations of loyalty to imperial Rome, to satisfy Hadrian's personal, idealised notions of Hellenism.Hadrian saw himself as protector of Greek culture and the "liberties" of Greece – in this case, urban self-government. It allowed Hadrian to appear as the fictive heir toPericles,who supposedly had convened a previous Panhellenic Congress – such a Congress is mentioned only in Pericles'biographybyPlutarch,who respected Rome's imperial order.

Epigraphical evidence suggests that the prospect of applying to the Panhellenion held little attraction to the wealthier, Hellenised cities of Asia Minor, which were jealous of Athenian and European Greek preeminence within Hadrian's scheme.Hadrian's notion of Hellenism was narrow and deliberately archaising; he defined "Greekness" in terms of classical roots, rather than a broader, Hellenistic culture.Some cities with a dubious claim to Greekness, however – such asSide– were acknowledged as fully Hellenic.The German sociologistGeorg Simmelremarked that the Panhellenion was based on "games, commemorations, preservation of an ideal, an entirely non-political Hellenism".

Hadrian bestowed honorific titles on many regional centres.Palmyrareceived a state visit and was given the civic name Hadriana Palmyra.Hadrian also bestowed honours on various Palmyrene magnates, among them one Soados, who had done much to protect Palmyrene trade between the Roman Empire and Parthia.

Hadrian had spent the winter of 131–32 in Athens, where he dedicated the now-completedTemple of Olympian Zeus,At some time in 132, he headed East, to Judaea.

Third Roman–Jewish War (132–136)

Main article:Bar Kokhba revolt

Coinage minted to mark Hadrian's visit to Judea. Inscription: HADRIANVS AVG. CO[N]S. III, P. P. / ADVENTVI (arrival) AVG. IVDAEAE – S. C.

Statue of Hadrian unearthed at Tel Shalem commemorating Roman military victory overSimon bar Kokhba,displayed at theIsrael Museum,Jerusalem

Porphyrystatue of Hadrian discovered inCaesarea,Israel

Background, causes

InRoman Judaea,Hadrian visitedJerusalem,which was still in ruins after theFirst Roman–Jewish Warof 66–73. He may have planned to rebuild Jerusalem as aRoman colony– asVespasianhad done withCaesarea Maritima– with various honorific and fiscal privileges. The non-Roman population would have no obligation to participate in Roman religious rituals but were expected to support the Roman imperial order; this is attested in Caesarea, where some Jews served in the Roman army during both the 66 and 132 rebellions.It has been speculated that Hadrian intended to assimilate theJewish Templeto the traditional Roman civic-religiousimperial cult;such assimilations had long been commonplace practice in Greece and in other provinces, and on the whole, had been successful.The neighbouring Samaritans had already integrated their religious rites with Hellenistic ones.Strict Jewishmonotheismproved more resistant to imperial cajoling, and then to imperial demands.

A tradition based on theHistoria Augustasuggests that the revolt was spurred by Hadrian's abolition ofcircumcision(brit milah);which as aHellenisthe viewed asmutilation.The scholarPeter Schäfermaintains that there is no evidence for this claim, given the notoriously problematical nature of theHistoria Augustaas a source, the "tomfoolery" shown by the writer in the relevant passage, and the fact that contemporary Roman legislation on "genital mutilation" seems to address the general issue ofcastrationof slaves by their masters.Other issues could have contributed to the outbreak: a heavy-handed, culturally insensitive Roman administration; tensions between the landless poor and incoming Roman colonists privileged with land-grants; and a strong undercurrent of messianism, predicated onJeremiah's prophecy that the Temple would be rebuilt seventy years after its destruction, as theFirst Templehad been after theBabylonian exile.

Revolt

A massive anti-Hellenistic and anti-Roman Jewish uprising broke out, led bySimon bar Kokhba.Given the fragmentary nature of the existing evidence, it is impossible to ascertain an exact date for the beginning of the uprising. It probably began between summer and fall of 132.

The Roman governorTineius (Tynius) Rufusasked for an army to crush the resistance; bar Kokhba punished any Jew who refused to join his ranks.According toJustin MartyrandEusebius,that had to do mostly with Christian converts, who opposed bar Kokhba's messianic claims.

The Romans were overwhelmed by the organised ferocity of the uprising.Hadrian called his generalSextus Julius SeverusfromBritainand brought troops in from as far as the Danube. Roman losses were heavy; an entire legion or its numeric equivalent of around 4,000.Hadrian's report on the war to theRoman Senateomitted the customary salutation, "If you and your children are in health, it is well; I and the legions are in health."

The rebellion was quashed by 135. According toCassius Dio.Beitar,a fortified city 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, fell after a three-and-a-half-year siege.

Aftermath; persecutions

Relief from an honorary monument of Hadrian (detail), showing the emperor being greeted by thegoddess Romaand theGeniiofthe Senateand the Roman People; marble, Roman artwork, 2nd century AD,Capitoline Museums,Vatican City

Roman war operations in Judea left some 580,000 Jews dead and 50 fortified towns and 985 villages razed.

An unknown proportion of the population was enslaved. The extent of punitive measures against the Jewish population remains a matter of debate.

Hadrian replaced the province's name by renaming itSyria Palaestina.He renamed JerusalemAelia Capitolinaafter himself andJupiter Capitolinusand had it rebuilt in Greek style. According to Epiphanius, Hadrian appointedAquila from Sinopein Pontus as "overseer of the work of building the city", since he was related to him by marriage.Hadrian is said to have placed the city's mainForumat the junction of the mainCardoandDecumanus Maximus,now the location for the (smaller)Muristan.After the suppression of the Jewish revolt, Hadrian provided the Samaritans with a temple dedicated to Zeus Hypsistos ( "Highest Zeus" )onMount Gerizim.The bloody repression of the revolt ended Jewish political independence from the Roman imperial order.

Hadrian's itinerary

Inscriptions make it clear that in 133, Hadrian took to the field with his armies against the rebels. He then returned to Rome, probably in that year and almost certainly – judging from inscriptions – viaIllyricum.

Final years

imperial group asMarsandVenus;the male figure is a portrait of Hadrian, the female figure was perhaps reworkedinto a portraitofAnnia Lucilla;marble, Roman artwork,c. 120–140 AD, reworked c. 170–175 AD.

Hadrian spent the final years of his life in Rome. In 134, he took an imperialsalutationfor the end of the Third Jewish War (which was not actually concluded until the following year). Commemorations and achievement awards were kept to a minimum, as Hadrian came to see the war "as a cruel and sudden disappointment to his aspirations" towards a cosmopolitan empire.

Empress Sabinadied, probably in 136, after an unhappy marriage with which Hadrian had coped as a political necessity. TheHistoria Augustabiography states that Hadrian himself declared that his wife's "ill-temper and irritability" would be reason enough for a divorce, were he a private citizen.That gave credence, after Sabina's death, to the common belief that Hadrian had her poisoned.In keeping with well-established imperial propriety, Sabina – who had been made anAugustasometime around 128– was deified not long after her death.

Arranging the succession

Posthumous portrait of Hadrian; bronze, Roman artwork, c. 140 AD, perhaps fromRoman Egypt,Louvre,Paris

Hadrian's marriage to Sabina had been childless. Suffering from poor health, Hadrian turned to the issue of succession. In 136, he adopted one of the ordinaryconsulsof that year, Lucius Ceionius Commodus, who, as an emperor-in-waiting, took the nameLucius Aelius Caesar.He was the son-in-law of Gaius Avidius Nigrinus, one of the "four consulars" executed in 118. His health was delicate, and his reputation apparently more that "of a voluptuous, well-educated great lord than that of a leader".Various modern attempts have been made to explain Hadrian's choice:Jerome Carcopinoproposes that Aelius was Hadrian's natural son.It has also been speculated that his adoption was Hadrian's belated attempt to reconcile with one of the most important of the four senatorial families whose leading members had been executed soon after Hadrian's succession.Aelius acquitted himself honourably as joint governor ofPannonia SuperiorandPannonia Inferior;he held a further consulship in 137 but died on 1 January 138.

Hadrian next adopted Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus (the future emperorAntoninus Pius), who had served Hadrian as one of the five imperial legates of Italy, and asproconsulofAsia.In the interests of dynastic stability, Hadrian required that Antoninus adopt both Lucius Ceionius Commodus (son of the deceased Aelius Caesar) and Marcus Annius Verus (grandson of an influential senatorof the same namewho had been Hadrian's close friend); Annius was already betrothed to Aelius Caesar's daughterCeionia Fabia.It may not have been Hadrian, but rather Antoninus Pius – Annius Verus's uncle – who supported Annius Verus' advancement; the latter's divorce of Ceionia Fabia and subsequent marriage to Antoninus' daughter Annia Faustina points in the same direction. When he eventually became Emperor, Marcus Aurelius would co-opt Ceionius Commodus as his co-Emperor, under the name ofLucius Verus,on his own initiative.

Hadrian's last few years were marked by conflict and unhappiness. His adoption of Aelius Caesar proved unpopular, not least with Hadrian's brother-in-lawLucius Julius Ursus Servianusand Servianus's grandson Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator. Servianus, though now far too old, had stood in the line of succession at the beginning of Hadrian's reign; Fuscus is said to have had designs on the imperial power for himself. In 137, he may have attempted acoupin which his grandfather was implicated; Hadrian ordered that both be put to death.Servianus is reported to haveprayed before his executionthat Hadrian would "long for death but be unable to die".During his final, protracted illness, Hadrian was prevented from suicide on several occasions.

Death

Mausoleum of Hadrian,commissioned by Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family.

Hadrian died in the year 138 on 10 July, in hisvillaatBaiaeat the age of 62, having reigned for 21 years.Dio Cassiusand theHistoria Augustarecord details of his failing health; some modern sources interpret the ear-creases on later portrayals (such as theTownley Hadrian) as signs ofcoronary artery disease.

He was buried atPuteoli,near Baiae, on an estate that had once belonged toCicero.Soon after, his remains were transferred to Rome and buried in theGardens of Domitia,close to the almost-complete mausoleum. Upon completion of theMausoleum of Hadrianin Rome in 139 by his successor Antoninus Pius, his body was cremated. His ashes were placed there together with those of his wifeVibia Sabinaand his first adopted son,Lucius Aelius Caesar,who also died in 138. The Senate had been reluctant to grant Hadrian divine honours; but Antoninus persuaded them by threatening to refuse the position of Emperor.Hadrian was given atempleon theCampus Martius,ornamented with reliefs representing the provinces.The Senate awarded Antoninus the title of "Pius", in recognition of his filial piety in pressing for thedeificationof Hadrian, his adoptive father.At the same time, perhaps in reflection of the senate's ill will towards Hadrian, commemorative coinage honouring his deification was kept to a minimum.

Military activities

Statue of Hadrian in military garb, wearing thecivic crownandmuscle cuirass,fromAntalya,Turkey.

Most of Hadrian's military activities were consistent with his ideology of empire as a community of mutual interest and support. He focused on protection from external and internal threats; on "raising" existing provinces rather than the aggressive acquisition of wealth and territory through subjugation of "foreign" peoples that had characterised the early empire.Hadrian's policy shift was part of a trend towards the slowing down of the empire's expansion, such expansion being not closed after him (the empire's greatest extent being achieved only during theSeveran dynasty), but a significant step in that direction, given the empire's overstretching.While the empire as a whole benefited from this, military careerists resented the loss of opportunities.

The 4th-century historian Aurelius Victor saw Hadrian's withdrawal from Trajan's territorial gains inMesopotamiaas a jealous belittlement of Trajan's achievements (Traiani gloriae invidens).More likely, an expansionist policy was no longer sustainable; the empire had lost two legions, theLegio XXII Deiotarianaand the "lost legion"IX Hispania,possibly destroyed in a late Trajanic uprising by theBrigantesin Britain.Trajan himself may have thought his gains in Mesopotamia indefensible and abandoned them shortly before his death.Hadrian granted parts of Dacia to theRoxolaniSarmatians; their king, Rasparaganus, received Roman citizenship, client king status, and possibly an increased subsidy.Hadrian's presence on the Dacian front is mere conjecture, but Dacia was included in his coin series with allegories of the provinces.A controlled partial withdrawal of troops from the Dacian plains would have been less costly than maintaining several Roman cavalry units and a supporting network of fortifications.

Hadrian retained control overOsroenethrough the client kingParthamaspates,who had once served as Trajan's client king of Parthia;and around 123, Hadrian negotiated a peace treaty with the now-independent Parthia (according to theHistoria Augusta,disputed).Late in his reign (135), theAlaniattacked RomanCappadociawith the covert support ofPharasmanes,the king of CaucasianIberia.The attack was repulsed by Hadrian's governor, the historianArrian,who subsequently installed a Roman "adviser" in Iberia.Arrian kept Hadrian well-informed on matters related to the Black Sea and the Caucasus. Between 131 and 132, he sent Hadrian a lengthy letter (Periplus of the Euxine) on a maritime trip around the Black Sea that was intended to offer relevant information in case a Roman intervention was needed.

Hadrian also developed permanent fortifications and military posts along the empire's borders (limites,sl.limes) to support his policy of stability, peace and preparedness. That helped keep the military usefully occupied in times of peace; his wall across Britannia was built by ordinary troops. A series of mostly woodenfortifications,forts,outpostsandwatchtowersstrengthened the Danube andRhineborders. Troops practised intensive, regulardrillroutines. Although his coins showed military images almost as often as peaceful ones, Hadrian's policy waspeace through strength,even threat,with an emphasis ondisciplina(discipline), which was the subject of two monetary series. Cassius Dio praised Hadrian's emphasis on "spit and polish" as cause for the generally peaceful character of his reign.Fronto, by contrast, claimed that Hadrian preferred war games to actual war and enjoyed "giving eloquent speeches to the armies" – like the inscribed series of addresses he made while on an inspection tour, during 128, at the new headquarters ofLegio III AugustainLambaesis.

Faced with a shortage of legionary recruits from Italy and other Romanised provinces, Hadrian systematised the use of less costlynumeri– ethnic non-citizen troops with special weapons, such as Eastern mounted archers, in low-intensity, mobile defensive tasks such as dealing with border infiltrators and skirmishers.Hadrian is also credited with introducing units of heavy cavalry (cataphracts) into the Roman army.Fronto later blamed Hadrian for declining standards in the Roman army of his own time.

Legal and social reforms

Bust of Emperor Hadrian,Roman, 117–138 CE. Probably from Rome, Italy. Formerly in theTownley Collection,now housed in theBritish Museum,London

Hadrian enacted, through the juristSalvius Julianus,the first attempt to codify Roman law. This was thePerpetual Edict,according to which the legal actions ofpraetorsbecame fixed statutes and, as such, could no longer be subjected to personal interpretation or change by any magistrate other than the Emperor.At the same time, following a procedure initiated byDomitian,Hadrian made the Emperor's legal advisory board, theconsilia principis( "council of theprinceps") into a permanent body, staffed by salaried legal aides.Its members were mostly drawn from the equestrian class, replacing the earlier freedmen of the imperial household.This innovation marked the superseding of surviving Republican institutions by an openly autocratic political system.The reformed bureaucracy was supposed to exercise administrative functions independently of traditional magistracies; objectively it did not detract from the Senate's position. The new civil servants were free men and as such supposed to act on behalf of the interests of the "Crown", not of the Emperor as an individual.However, the Senate never accepted the loss of its prestige caused by the emergence of a new aristocracy alongside it, placing more strain on the already troubled relationship between the Senate and the Emperor.

Hadrian codified the customary legal privileges of the wealthiest, most influential, highest-status citizens (described assplendidiores personaeorhonestiores), who held a traditional right to pay fines when found guilty of relatively minor, non-treasonous offences. Low-ranking persons –alii( "the others" ), including low-ranking citizens – werehumilioreswho for the same offences could be subject to extreme physical punishments, including forced labour in the mines or in public works, as a form of fixed-term servitude. While Republican citizenship had carried at least notional equality under law, and the right to justice, offences in imperial courts were judged and punished according to the relative prestige, rank, reputation and moral worth of both parties; senatorial courts were apt to be lenient when trying one of their peers, and to deal very harshly with offences committed against one of their number by low-ranking citizens or non-citizens. For treason (maiestas), beheading was the worst punishment that the law could inflict onhonestiores;thehumilioresmight suffer crucifixion, burning, orcondemnation to the beasts in the arena.

Bust of Hadrian from Athens,c.130 AD,NAMA.

A great number of Roman citizens maintained a precarious social and economic advantage at the lower end of the hierarchy. Hadrian found it necessary to clarify thatdecurions,the usually middle-class, elected local officials responsible for running the ordinary, everyday official business of the provinces, counted ashonestiores;so did soldiers, veterans and their families, as far as civil law was concerned; by implication, almost all citizens below those ranks – the vast majority of the Empire's population – counted ashumiliores,with low citizen status, high tax obligations and limited rights. Like most Romans, Hadrian seems to have accepted slavery as morally correct, an expression of the same natural order that rewarded "the best men" with wealth, power and respect. When confronted by a crowd demanding the freeing of a popular slave charioteer, Hadrian replied that he could not free a slave belonging to another person.However, he limited the punishments that slaves could suffer; they could be lawfully tortured to provide evidence, but they could not be lawfully killed unless guilty of a capital offence.Masters were forbidden to sell slaves to a gladiator trainer (lanista) or to aprocurer,except as legally justified punishment.Hadrian also forbade torture of free defendants and witnesses.He abolishedergastula,private prisons for slaves in which kidnapped free men had sometimes been illegally detained.

Hadrian issued a generalrescript,imposing a ban on castration, performed on freedman or slave, voluntarily or not, on pain of death for both the performer and the patient.Under theLex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis,castration was placed on a par with conspiracy to murder and punished accordingly.Notwithstanding his philhellenism, Hadrian was also a traditionalist. He enforced dress-standards among thehonestiores;senators and knights were expected to wear thetogawhen in public. He imposed strict separation between the sexes in theatres and public baths; to discourage idleness, the latter were not allowed to open until 2:00 in the afternoon, "except for medical reasons."

Religious activities

Statue of Hadrian aspontifex maximus,dated 130–140 AD, from Rome,Palazzo Nuovo,Capitoline Museums

One of Hadrian's immediate duties on accession was to seek senatorial consent for thedeificationof his predecessor, Trajan, and any members of Trajan's family to whom he owed a debt of gratitude. Matidia Augusta, Hadrian's mother-in-law, died in December 119 and was duly deified.Hadrian may have stopped atNemaususduring his return fromBritanniato oversee the completion or foundation of abasilicadedicated to his patroness Plotina. She had recently died in Rome and had been deified at Hadrian's request.

As Emperor, Hadrian was also Rome'spontifex maximus,responsible for all religious affairs and the proper functioning of official religious institutions throughout the empire. His Hispano-Roman origins and marked pro-Hellenism shifted the focus of the official imperial cult from Rome to the Provinces. While his standard coin issues identified him with the traditionalgenius populi Romani,other issues stressed his personal identification withHercules Gaditanus(Hercules ofGades), and Rome's imperial protection of Greek civilisation.He promotedSagalassosin GreekPisidiaas the Empire's leading imperial cult centre; his exclusively GreekPanhellenionextolled Athens as the spiritual centre of Greek culture.

Hadrian added several imperial cult centres to the existing roster, particularly in Greece, where traditional intercity rivalries were commonplace. Cities promoted as imperial cult centres drew imperial sponsorship of festivals and sacred games, and attracted tourism, trade and private investment. Local worthies and sponsors were encouraged to seek self-publicity as cult officials under the aegis of Roman rule and to foster reverence for imperial authority.Hadrian's rebuilding of long-established religious centres would have further underlined his respect for the glories of classical Greece – something well in line with contemporary antiquarian tastes.During Hadrian's third and last trip to the Greek East, there seems to have been an upwelling of religious fervour, focused on Hadrian himself. He was given personal cult as a deity, monuments and civic homage, according to the religioussyncretismof the time.He may have had the greatSerapeum of Alexandriarebuilt, following damage sustained in 116, during theDiaspora revolt.

In 136, just two years before his death, Hadrian dedicated his Temple of Venus and Roma. It was built on land he had set aside for the purpose in 121, formerly the site of Nero'sGolden House.The temple was the largest in Rome and was built in a Hellenising style, more Greek than Roman. Its dedication and statuary associated thecultusof the traditional Roman goddessVenus,divine ancestress and protector of the Roman people, with thecultusof the goddessRoma– herself a Greek invention, hitherto worshipped only in the provinces – to emphasise the universal nature of the empire.

Antinous

Busts of HadrianandAntinousin the British Museum

Hadrian hadAntinousdeified asOsiris-Antinous by an Egyptian priest at the ancient Temple of Ramesses II, very near the place of his death. Hadrian dedicated a new temple-city complex there, built in a Graeco-Roman style, and named itAntinoöpolis.It was a proper Greekpolis;it was granted an imperially subsidised alimentary scheme similar to Trajan'salimenta,and its citizens were allowed intermarriage with members of the native population without loss of citizen status. Hadrian thus identified an existing native cult (to Osiris) with Roman rule.The cult of Antinous was to become very popular in the Greek-speaking world and also found support in the West. In Hadrian's villa, statues of theTyrannicides,with a bearded Aristogeiton and a clean-shaven Harmodios, linked his favourite to the classical tradition ofGreek love.In the west, Antinous was identified with the Celtic sun godBelenos.

Hadrian was criticised for the open intensity of his grief at Antinous's death, particularly as he had delayed the apotheosis of his own sisterPaulinaafter her death.Nevertheless, his recreation of the deceased youth as a cult figure found little opposition.Though not a subject of the state-sponsored, official Roman imperial cult, Antinous offered a common focus for the emperor and his subjects, emphasising their sense of community.Medals were struck with his effigy, and statues were erected to him in all parts of the empire, in all kinds of garb, including Egyptian dress.Temples were built for his worship in Bithynia and Mantineia in Arcadia. In Athens, festivals were celebrated in his honour and oracles delivered in his name. As an "international" cult figure, Antinous had enduring fame, far outlasting Hadrian's reign.Local coins with his effigy were still being struck duringCaracalla'sreign, and he was invoked in a poem to celebrate the accession ofDiocletian.

Christians

Hadrian continued Trajan's policy on Christians; they should not be sought out and should only be prosecuted for specific offences, such as refusal to swear oaths.In arescriptaddressed to the proconsul of Asia,Gaius Minicius Fundanus,and preserved byJustin Martyr,Hadrian laid down that accusers of Christians had to bear the burden of proof for their denunciationsor be punished forcalumnia(defamation).

Personal and cultural interests

Hadrian on the obverse of anaureus(123). The reverse bears a personification ofAequitas AugustiorJuno Moneta.Inscription: IMP. CAESAR TRAIAN. HADRIANVS AVG. / P. M., TR. P., CO[N]S. III.

Hadrian had an abiding and enthusiastic interest in art, architecture and public works. As part of his imperial restoration program, he founded, re-founded or rebuilt many towns and cities throughout the Empire, supplying them with temples, stadiums and other public buildings. Examples in the Roman Province ofThraceinclude monumental developments to theStadiumandOdeonofPhilippopolis(present-dayPlovdiv), the provincial capital,and his rebuilding and enlargement of the city of Orestias, which he renamed Hadrianopolis (modernEdirne).Several other towns and cities – includingRoman Carthage– were named or renamedHadrianopolis.Rome'sPantheon(temple "to all the gods" ), originally built byAgrippaand destroyed by fire in 80, was partly restored under Trajan and completed under Hadrian in its familiar domed form.Hadrian's Villaat Tibur (Tivoli) provides the greatest Roman equivalent of anAlexandriangarden, complete with domedSerapeum,recreating a sacred landscape.

An anecdote fromCassius Dio's history suggests Hadrian had a high opinion of his own architectural tastes and talents and took their rejection as a personal offence: at some time before his reign, his predecessor Trajan was discussing an architectural problem withApollodorus of Damascus– architect and designer ofTrajan's Forum,the Column commemorating his Dacian conquest,andhis bridge across the Danube– when Hadrian interrupted to offer his advice. Apollodorus gave him a scathing response: "Be off, and draw your gourds [a sarcastic reference to the domes which Hadrian apparently liked to draw]. You don't understand any of these matters." Dio claims that once Hadrian became emperor, he showed Apollodorus drawings of the giganticTemple of Venus and Roma,implying that great buildings could be created without his help. When Apollodorus pointed out the building's various insoluble problems and faults, Hadrian was enraged, sent him into exile and later put him to death on trumped-up charges.

Hadrian was a passionate hunter from a young age.In northwest Asia, he founded and dedicated a city to commemorate a she-bear he killed.In Egypt he and his belovedAntinouskilled a lion. In Rome, eight reliefs featuring Hadrian in different stages of hunting decorate a building that began as a monument celebrating a kill.

Bust of the emperor Hadrian in theCapitoline Museums

Hadrian'sphilhellenismmay have been one reason for his adoption, likeNerobefore him, of thebeardas suited to Roman imperial dignity;Dio of Prusahad equated the growth of the beard with the Hellenic ethos.Hadrian's beard may also have served to conceal his natural facial blemishes.Before him, all emperors except Nero (who occasionally wore sideburns) had been clean-shaven, according to the fashion introduced among the Romans byScipio Africanus(236–183 BCE); all adult emperors after Hadrian were bearded, untilConstantine the Great(r. 306–337); this imperial fashion was revived byPhocas(r. 602–610) at the beginning of the 7th century.

Hadrian was familiar with the rival philosophersEpictetusandFavorinus,and with their works, and held an interest inRoman philosophy.During his first stay in Greece, before he became emperor, he attended lectures by Epictetus atNicopolis.Shortly before the death of Plotina, Hadrian had granted her wish that the leadership of theEpicureanSchool in Athens be open to a non-Roman candidate.

During Hadrian's time as tribune of the plebs, omens and portents supposedly announced his future imperial condition.According to theHistoria Augusta,Hadrian had a great interest inastrologyanddivinationand had been told of his future accession to the Empire by a granduncle who was himself a skilled astrologer.

Hadrian wrote poetry in both Latin and Greek; one of the few surviving examples is a Latin poem he reportedly composed on his deathbed (seebelow). Some of his Greek productions found their way into thePalatine Anthology.He also wrote an autobiography, whichHistoria Augustasays was published under the name of Hadrian's freedmanPhlegon of Tralles.It was not a work of great length or revelation but designed to scotch various rumours or explain Hadrian's most controversial actions.It is possible that this autobiography had the form of a series of open letters toAntoninus Pius.

Poem by Hadrian

According to theHistoria Augusta,Hadrian composed the following poem shortly before his death:

Animula vagula blandula

Hospes comesque corporis

Quae nunc abibis in loca

Pallidula, rigida, nudula,

Nec, ut soles, dabis iocos...

P. Aelius Hadrianus Imp.

Roving amiable little soul,

Body's companion and guest,

Now descending for parts

Colourless, unbending, and bare

Your usual distractions no more shall be there...

The poem has enjoyed remarkable popularity,but uneven critical acclaim.According to Aelius Spartianus, the alleged author of Hadrian's biography in theHistoria Augusta,Hadrian "wrote also similar poems in Greek, not much better than this one".T. S. Eliot's poem "Animula" may have been inspired by Hadrian's, though the relationship is not unambiguous.

Appraisals

Bust of Emperor Hadrian

Hadrian has been described as the most versatile of all Roman emperors, who "adroitly concealed a mind envious, melancholy, hedonistic, and excessive with respect to his own ostentation; he simulated restraint, affability, clemency, and conversely disguised the ardor for fame with which he burned."His successorMarcus Aurelius,in hisMeditations,lists those to whom he owes a debt of gratitude; Hadrian is conspicuously absent.Hadrian's tense, authoritarian relationship with his Senate was acknowledged a generation after his death by Fronto, himself a senator, who wrote in one of his letters to Marcus Aurelius that "I praised the deified Hadrian, your grandfather, in the senate on a number of occasions with great enthusiasm, and I did this willingly, too [...] But, if it can be said – respectfully acknowledging your devotion towards your grandfather – I wanted to appease and assuage Hadrian as I wouldMars GradivusorDis Pater,rather than to love him. "Fronto adds, in another letter, that he kept some friendships, during Hadrian's reign, "under the risk of my life" (cum periculo capitis).Hadrian underscored the autocratic character of his reign by counting hisdies imperiifrom the day of his acclamation by the armies rather than the senate and legislating by frequent use ofimperial decreesto bypass the need for the Senate's approval.The veiled antagonism between Hadrian and the Senate never grew to overt confrontation as had happened during the reigns of overtly "bad" emperors because Hadrian knew how to remain aloof and avoid an open clash.That Hadrian spent half of his reign away from Rome in constant travel probably helped to mitigate the worst of this permanently strained relationship.

Bust of Hadrian with an Antinous-shaped gorgoneion, 2nd century AD, Museum of Astros,Greece.

In 1503,Niccolò Machiavelli,though an avowedrepublican,esteemed Hadrian as an idealprinceps,one of Rome'sFive Good Emperors.Friedrich Schillercalled Hadrian "the Empire's first servant".Edward Gibbonadmired his "vast and active genius" and his "equity and moderation", and considered Hadrian's era as part of the "happiest era of human history". InRonald Syme'sview, Hadrian "was aFührer,aDuce,aCaudillo".According to Syme,Tacitus' description of the rise and accession ofTiberiusis a disguised account of Hadrian's authoritarian Principate.According, again, to Syme, Tacitus'Annalswould be a work of contemporary history, written "during Hadrian's reign and hating it".

While the balance of ancient literary opinion almost invariably compares Hadrian unfavourably to his predecessor, modern historians have sought to examine his motives, purposes and the consequences of his actions and policies.For M.A. Levi, a summing-up of Hadrian's policies should stress theecumenicalcharacter of the Empire, his development of an alternate bureaucracy disconnected from the Senate and adapted to the needs of an "enlightened"autocracy,and his overall defensive strategy; this would qualify him as a grand Roman political reformer, creator of an openlyabsolute monarchyto replace a sham senatorial republic.Robin Lane Foxcredits Hadrian as creator of a unified Greco-Roman cultural tradition, and as the end of this same tradition; Hadrian's attempted "restoration" of Classical culture within a non-democratic Empire drained it of substantive meaning, or, in Fox's words, "kill[ed] it with kindness".

Hadrian's portraits

Hadrian Aureus with the portrait type Delta-Omikron, Rome, 129–130 AD

Hadrian's portraiture shows him as the first Roman emperor with a beard. Most emperors after him followed his lead. 10 different portrait types are known of Hadrian. A juvenile type with curly hair, broad side burns and a light moustache (but a free chin) was shown on coins later in his life on rare aurei, but likely reflects an early portrait before he became emperor.His first portrait type as Caesar and Augustus used on coins in Mid 117AD shows again broad sideburns merging into a strong moustache and still a free chin. The beard thus resembles beard styles popular in the 19th century like emperorFranz Josef of Austria.

Hadrian Portrait type I Rome, denarius 117AD,

This is then followed by portraits showing Hadrian with a short, well groomed full beard until his death. Of note his portraits do not age during his reign.See other portrait images of Hadrian in this article for examples of the later Hadrian portraits.

Sources and historiography

In Hadrian's time, there was already a well-established convention that one could not write a contemporary Roman imperial history for fear of contradicting what the emperors wanted to say, read or hear about themselves.As an earlier Latin source,Fronto's correspondence and works attest to Hadrian's character and the internal politics of his rule.Greek authors such asPhilostratusandPausaniaswrote shortly after Hadrian's reign, but confined their scope to the general historical framework that shaped Hadrian's decisions, especially those relating the Greek-speaking world, Greek cities and notables.Pausanias especially wrote a lot in praise of Hadrian's benefactions to Greece in general and Athens in particular.Political histories of Hadrian's reign come mostly from later sources, some of them written centuries after the reign itself. The early 3rd-centuryRoman HistorybyCassius Dio,written in Greek, gave a general account of Hadrian's reign, but the original is lost, and what survives, aside from some fragments, is a brief, Byzantine-era abridgment by the 11th-century monk Xiphilinius, who focused on Hadrian's religious interests, the Bar Kokhba war, and little else – mostly on Hadrian's moral qualities and his fraught relationship with the Senate.There are various other sources referred to by later commentators, such as theencomiumofAspasius of Byblos,that are now completely lost. The principal source for Hadrian's life and reign is, therefore, in Latin: one of several late 4th-century imperial biographies, collectively known as theHistoria Augusta.The collection as a whole is notorious for its unreliability ( "a mish mash of actual fact,cloak and dagger,sword and sandal,with a sprinkling ofUbu Roi"),but most modern historians consider its account of Hadrian to be relatively free of outright fictions, and probably based on sound historical sources,principally one of a lost series of imperial biographies by the prominent 3rd-century senatorMarius Maximus,who covered the reigns ofNervathrough toElagabalus.

The first modern historian to produce a chronological account of Hadrian's life, supplementing the written sources with other epigraphical, numismatic, and archaeological evidence, was the German 19th-century medievalistFerdinand Gregorovius.A 1907 biography by Weber,a German nationalist and laterNazi Partysupporter, incorporates the same archaeological evidence to produce an account of Hadrian, and especially hisBar Kokhba war,that has been described as ideologically loaded.Epigraphical studies in thepost-warperiod help support alternate views of Hadrian.Anthony Birley's 1997 biography of Hadrian sums up and reflects these developments in Hadrian historiography.

Nerva–Antonine family tree

Nerva–Antonine family tree
Q. Marcius Barea Soranus Q. Marcius Barea Sura Antonia Furnilla M. Cocceius Nerva Sergia Plautilla P. Aelius Hadrianus Titus (r. 79–81) Marcia Furnilla Marcia Trajanus Pater Nerva (r. 96–98) Ulpia Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus Flavia Marciana C. Salonius Matidius Trajan (r. 98–117) Plotina P. Acilius Attianus P. Aelius Afer Paulina Major Lucius Mindius(2) Libo Rupilius Frugi(3) Salonia Matidia L. Vibius Sabinus(1) Paulina Minor L. Julius Ursus Servianus Matidia Minor Sabina Hadrian(r. 117–138) Antinous C. Fuscus Salinator I Julia Serviana Paulina M. Annius Verus Rupilia Faustina Boionia Procilla Cn. Arrius Antoninus L. Ceionius Commodus Appia Severa C. Fuscus Salinator II L. Caesennius Paetus Arria Antonina Arria Fadilla T. Aurelius Fulvus L. Caesennius Antoninus L. Commodus Plautia unknown C. Avidius Nigrinus M. Annius Verus Calvisia Domitia Lucilla Fundania M. Annius Libo Faustina Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161) L. Aelius Caesar Avidia Cornificia Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) Faustina Minor C. Avidius Cassius Aurelia Fadilla Lucius Verus (r. 161–169)(1) Ceionia Fabia Plautius Quintillus Q. Servilius Pudens Ceionia Plautia Cornificia Minor M. Petronius Sura Commodus (r. 177–192) Fadilla M. Annius Verus Caesar Ti. Claudius Pompeianus(2) Lucilla M. Plautius Quintillus Junius Licinius Balbus Servilia Ceionia Petronius Antoninus L. Aurelius Agaclytus (2) Aurelia Sabina L. Antistius Burrus(1) Plautius Quintillus Plautia Servilla C. Furius Sabinus Timesitheus Antonia Gordiana Junius Licinius Balbus? Furia Sabina Tranquillina Gordian III (r. 238–244)
(1) = 1st spouse (2) = 2nd spouse (3) = 3rd spouse Reddish-purple indicatesemperorof the Nerva–Antonine dynasty lighter purple indicates designated imperial heir of said dynasty who never reigned grey indicates unsuccessful imperial aspirants bluish-purple indicates emperors of other dynasties dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships Small Caps= posthumously deified (Augusti,Augustae,or other)
Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.
References: DIRcontributors (2000)."De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families".Retrieved14 April2015. Giacosa, Giorgio (1977).Women of the Caesars: Their Lives and Portraits on Coins.Translated by R. Ross Holloway. Milan: Edizioni Arte e Moneta.ISBN0-8390-0193-2. Lambert, Royston (1984).Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous.New York: Viking.ISBN0-670-15708-2. Levick, Barbara(2014).Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-537941-9. Smith, William,ed. (1870).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

See also

• Memoirs of Hadrian,a 1951 semi-fictional autobiography of Hadrian, written byMarguerite Yourcenar.
• Phallos,a 2004 novella in which the narrator encounters Hadrian and Antinous just before Antinous's murder and then, once more, minutes afterward, which changes the narrator's life, written bySamuel R. Delany.
• Hadrian,a 2018 opera based on Hadrian's life and death and his relationship with Antinous, composed byRufus Wainwright.

References

Primary sources

• Cassius Dioor Dio CassiusRoman History.Greek Text and Translation by Earnest Caryat internet archive
• Scriptores Historiae Augustae,Augustan History.Latin TextTranslated byDavid Magie
• Aurelius Victor,Caesares,XIV. Latin"Caesares: text – IntraText CT".Intratext.com. 4 May 2007.Retrieved13 March2010.
• Anon,ExcerptaofAurelius Victor:Epitome de Caesaribus,XIII. Latin"Epitome De Caesaribus: text – IntraText CT".Intratext.com. 4 May 2007.Retrieved13 March2010.

Inscriptions:

• Eusebius of Caesarea,Church History (Book IV),"Church History".New Advent.Retrieved13 March2010.
• Smallwood, E.M,Documents Illustrating the Principates of Nerva Trajan and Hadrian,Cambridge, 1966.

Secondary sources

• Bârcă, Vitalie (2013).Nomads of the Steppes on the Danube Frontier of the Roman Empire in the 1st Century CE. Historical Sketch and Chronological Remarks.Dacia.OCLC1023761641.
• Barnes, T. D. (1967). "Hadrian and Lucius Verus".Journal of Roman Studies.57(1/2): 65–79.doi:10.2307/299345.JSTOR299345.S2CID162678629.
• Birley, Anthony R. (1997).Hadrian. The restless emperor.London: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-16544-0.
• Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro(1987).Hadrian and the city of Rome.Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0691002187.
• Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro. (2002).Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire.Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-04889-5.
• Canto, Alicia M. (2004)."Itálica,patriay ciudad natal de Adriano (31 textos históricos y argumentos contraVita Hadr.1, 3 ".Athenaeum.92(2): 367–408. Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2007.
• Everitt, Anthony (2009).Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome.New York: Random House.ISBN978-1-4000-6662-9.
• Dobson, Brian (2000).Hadrian's Wall.London: Penguin.
• Gibbon, Edward,The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,vol. I, 1776. The Online Library of Liberty"Online Library of Liberty – The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1".Oll.libertyfund.org. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2010.Retrieved13 March2010.
• Giurescu, Dinu C.; Fischer-Galaţi, Stephen A. (1998).Romania: a Historic Perspective.East European Monographs.OCLC39317152.
• Lambert, Royston(1997).Beloved and God: the story of Hadrian and Antinous.London: Phoenix Giants.ISBN978-1-85799-944-0.
• Mócsy, András (2014).Pannonia and Upper Moesia (Routledge Revivals): A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire.Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-75425-1.
• Morwood, James (2013).Hadrian.London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic.ISBN978-1849668866.
• Opper, Thorsten (2008).Hadrian: Empire and Conflict.Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0674030954.
• Speller, Elizabeth (2003).Following Hadrian: a second-century journey through the Roman Empire.London: Review.ISBN978-0-7472-6662-4.
• Syme, Ronald(1997) [1958].Tacitus.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-814327-7.
• Syme, Ronald (1964). "Hadrian and Italica".Journal of Roman Studies.LIV(1–2): 142–49.doi:10.2307/298660.JSTOR298660.S2CID162241585.
• Syme, Ronald (1988)."Journeys of Hadrian"(PDF).Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik.73:159–170.Retrieved12 December2006.Reprinted inSyme, Ronald (1991).Roman Papers VI.Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 346–57.ISBN978-0-19-814494-6.

Further reading

• Danziger, Danny; Purcell, Nicholas (2006).Hadrian's empire: when Rome ruled the world.London: Hodder & Stoughton.ISBN978-0-340-83361-2.
• Everitt, Anthony (2009).Hadrian and the triumph of Rome.New York: Random House.ISBN978-1-4000-6662-9.
• Gray, William Dodge (1919). "A Study of the life of Hadrian Prior to His Accession".Smith College Studies in History.4:151–209.
• Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1898).The Emperor Hadrian: A Picture of the Greco-Roman World in His Time.Mary E. Robinson, trans. London: Macmillan.ISBN978-0790552286.
• Henderson, Bernard W. (1923).Life and Principate of the Emperor Hadrian.London: Methuen.
• Ish-Kishor, Sulamith (1935).Magnificent Hadrian: A Biography of Hadrian, Emperor of Rome.New York: Minton, Balch and Co.
• Kouremenos, Anna (2022).The Province of Achaea in the 2nd century CE: The Past Present.Routledge.ISBN978-1032014852
• Perowne, Stewart(1960).Hadrian.London: Hodder and Stoughton.
• Modena Altieri, Ascanio (2017).Imago roboris: Adriano di Tel Shalem.Rome: L'Intellettuale Dissidente. Archived fromthe originalon 31 May 2021.Retrieved25 March2021.

External links

• Historia Augusta: Life of Hadrian
• Hadrian coinage
• Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Major scultoric find at Sagalassos (Turkey),2 August 2007 (between 13 and 16 feet in height, four to five meters), withsome splendid photos courtesy of the Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project
• Hadrian, in De Imperatoribus Romanis, Online Encyclopedia of Roman EmperorsArchived8 April 2011 at theWayback Machine