How Did Hadrian Die
⚡ 👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻 INFORMATION AVAILABLE CLICK HERE 👈🏻👈🏻👈🏻
Professor of Ancient History, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey. Author of Greek Sophists in the Roman Empire and others.
Last Updated: Jan 20, 2021 See Article History
Alternative Titles: Adrian, Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, Publius Aelius Hadrianus
Australia, United States, Canada, or Ireland? Quiz
Gods, Goddesses, and Greek Mythology Quiz
Hadrian, also spelled Adrian, Latin in full Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, original name (until 117 ce) Publius Aelius Hadrianus, (born January 24, 76 ce—died July 10, 138, Baiae [Baia], near Naples [Italy]), Roman emperor (117–138 ce), the emperor Trajan’s cousin and successor, who was a cultivated admirer of Greek civilization and who unified and consolidated Rome’s vast empire. He was the third of the so-called Five Good Emperors.
Before being named Trajan’s successor as Roman emperor, Hadrian spent time in Athens that encouraged his interest in Hellenic culture. After becoming emperor in 117, Hadrian sponsored public works projects in Athens and granted Greeks equal representation in Rome. Hadrian’s portraiture, characterized by his long hair and tight beard, demonstrates the extent of his philhellenism. Learn more.
The Pantheon in Rome is arguably the most famous structure associated with Hadrian. Virtually intact today, it synthesizes Greek and Roman architectural elements, among them the characteristic dome and oculus. Hadrian’s opulent countryside villa is also well known. Spanning seven square miles, it demonstrates the architectural prowess and cultural scope of the empire at its peak.
What was Hadrian’s architectural legacy?
Hadrian made several efforts to Romanize the Jewish province of Judaea, sparking a widespread Jewish revolt in 132 CE under Bar Kokhba. Despite initial successes, the insurgents were eventually defeated by a scorched-earth campaign that ravaged the province. Hadrian punished Judaea’s Jewish population with laws aimed at eradicating the people and their religion. Learn more.
Hadrian’s Roman forebears left Picenum in Italy for southern Spain about 250 years before his birth. His father was from Italica, Baetica (modern Andalusia), and his mother from Gades (Cádiz). Hadrian’s birthplace remains a matter of dispute, some sources locating it in his father’s hometown of Italica and others claiming that he was born in Rome.
His father died in 85, and Hadrian was entrusted to the care of two men: one, a cousin of his father, later became the emperor Trajan, and the other, Acilius Attianus, later served as prefect of the emperor’s Praetorian Guard early in Hadrian’s own reign. In 90 Hadrian visited Italica, where he remained for several years. There he received some kind of military training and also developed a fondness for hunting that he kept for the rest of his life.
When Trajan was consul in 91, Hadrian began to follow the traditional career of a Roman senator, advancing through a conventional series of posts. He was military tribune with three Roman legions. In about 95 he served with the Legion II Adjutrix in the province of Upper Moesia, on the Danube River, whence he transferred in the next year to Lower Moesia (with the Fifth Macedonica). Toward the end of 97, Hadrian was chosen to go west to Gaul to convey congratulations to Trajan, whom the aged emperor Nerva had just adopted and thereby designated his successor. Trajan’s ward now belonged to the governing circles of the empire. Inevitably, hostility and envy awaited him. In 98 Julius Servianus, his brother-in-law, attempted unsuccessfully to prevent him from being the first to inform Trajan of Nerva’s death. Thereafter, the two men were probably never on cordial terms, for Servianus posed a constant threat to Hadrian’s position.
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now
The greatest single political figure behind the emperor Trajan was the man who had masterminded his elevation, Lucius Licinius Sura. Hadrian enjoyed Sura’s favour, and, as long as he was alive, Hadrian prospered. Trajan’s wife, Plotina, seems also to have been close to Sura and a partisan of Hadrian. For a time Servianus could do no harm. Through Plotina’s favour, Hadrian married Trajan’s grand-niece, Vibia Sabina, in 100. In 101 Hadrian was quaestor and in 102 served as Trajan’s companion in the emperor’s first war in Dacia on the Danube. In 105 Hadrian became tribune of the plebs and, exceptionally, advanced to the praetorship in 106. No less exceptional than the speed of promotion was Hadrian’s service as praetor while in the field with the emperor during his second war in Dacia. In 107 he was briefly governor of Lower Pannonia. Then, in 108, Hadrian reached the coveted pinnacle of a senator’s career, the consulate. In 107 Licinius Sura had held that office for the third time, an honour vouchsafed to very few. It was a cruel blow when Sura died at an unknown date immediately following Hadrian’s consulate.
Hadrian’s career apparently stopped for nearly 10 years. Other promising young Romans suffered a similar retardation at about the same time. It would appear that a new political influence, opposed to Sura, Plotina, and Hadrian, dominated Trajan’s court after Sura’s death. Perhaps Servianus played some role. One fact illuminates this otherwise obscure period of Hadrian’s life: he was archon at Athens in 112, and a surviving inscription commemorating this office was set up in the Theatre of Dionysus. Hadrian’s tenure is a portent of the philhellenism that characterized his reign, and it suggests that in a time of political inactivity Hadrian devoted himself to the nation and culture of his beloved Greeks. Somehow, however, Hadrian’s star rose again, and he returned to favour before the emperor died.
One source says that Hadrian was an officer under Trajan during the Parthian wars at the end of his reign. In 117, when Trajan began his journey westward, Hadrian was left in charge of the crucial army in Syria. Friends of Hadrian, whose careers had been held up, can also be discovered in sensitive commands at the same time, probably because Plotina and her associates had regained Trajan’s confidence. On August 9 Hadrian learned that Trajan had adopted him, the sign of succession. On the 11th, it was reported that Trajan had died on the way to Rome, whereupon the army proclaimed Hadrian emperor. The sequence of events has always provoked suspicion of a conspiracy on Plotina’s part, but the truth will never be known. Certainly, it was Trajan who had taken the fateful step of entrusting the army of Syria to Hadrian.
born
January 24, 76
Rome?, Italy?
died
July 10, 138 (aged 62)
Baiae, Italy
title / office
emperor, Roman Empire (117-138)
consul, Roman Empire (108-108)
role in
Second Jewish Revolt
founder of
Antinoöpolis
Inspire your inbox – Sign up for daily fun facts about this day in history, updates, and special offers.
By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Click here to view our Privacy Notice. Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email.
Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.
©2021 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 C.E. – July 10, 138 C.E.), known as Hadrian, was Roman emperor from 117 C.E.–138 C.E., and a member of the plebian family gens Aelia. Hadrian was the third of the "Five Good Emperors," although, according to Elizabeth Speller, he was the first emperor whose assessment moved beyond the stereotype of good and bad emperors. His reign had a faltering beginning, a glorious middle, and a tragic conclusion (Speller, 2003). Hadrian was renowned for his public speaking ability and also for his knowledge of philosophy. Some consider him among the most gifted men produced by Rome. He appears to have wanted to create a civil community or society throughout the empire, a type of free republic governed by the wisest and best teachers. All would “come together as into a common civic center, in order to receive each man his due” Rome always maintained a republican infrastructure.[1]
Hadrian was born in Rome to a well-established family that had originated in Picenum Italy and had subsequently settled in Italica, Hispania Baetica (originally Hispania Ulterior). He was a distant relative of his predecessor Trajan, being a grandson of Trajan's father's sister. Trajan never officially designated a successor, but, according to his wife Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. However, Trajan's wife was well-disposed toward Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to her. He is famous for building the defensive wall between what became England and Scotland, for his patronage of the arts, and for attempting to bind the former Greek city states together through a pan-Hellenic parliament. His policies in Palestine were harsh, resulting in Bar Kochba's revolt and the expulsion of Jews from Palestine, but his reign was generally peaceful. His policy of peace through strength, even through threat, perhaps compares to how more recent empires or powers have attempted to police the world, that is, by possessing far more military capability than any possible rival.
Hadrian was born in Rome and was the son of Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer, a cousin of Trajan, from Italica in Hispania Baetica. His mother was Domitia Paulina of Gades. His sister was Domitia Paulina the Younger. After his father died (probably in 85 C.E.), Hadrian became the ward of Acilius Attianus and the future Emperor Trajan (Lambert, 1997). Hadrian was schooled in various subjects common to young aristocrats of the day and was so fond of learning Greek literature that he was nicknamed Graeculus ("Little Greek").
Hadrian enlisted in the army some time during the reign of Domitian. His first service was as a tribune to the Legio II Adiutrix. Later, he was to be transferred to the Legio I Minervia in Germany. When Nerva died in 98 C.E., Hadrian rushed to inform Trajan personally. He later became legate of a legion in Upper Pannoni and eventually governor of said province. He was also archon in Athens for a brief time, and was elected an Athenian citizen.
Hadrian was active in the wars against the Dacians (as legate of the V Macedonica) and reputedly won awards from Trajan for his successes. Due to an absence of military action in his reign, Hadrian's military skill is not well attested; however, his keen interest and knowledge of the army and his demonstrated skill of administration show possible strategic talent.
Hadrian joined Trajan's expedition against Parthia as a legate on Trajan’s staff (Birley, 1997). Neither during the initial victorious phase, nor during the second phase of the war when rebellion swept Mesopotamia did Hadrian do anything of note. However, when the governor of Syria had to be sent to sort out renewed troubles in Dacia, Hadrian was appointed as a replacement, giving him an independent command (Birley, 1997). By now, Trajan was seriously ill and had decided to return to Rome while Hadrian remained in Syria to guard the Roman rear. Trajan only got as far as Selinus before he became too ill to go further. Hadrian, however much he was the obvious successor, had still not been adopted as Trajan's heir. As Trajan lay dying, nursed by his wife, Plotina (a supporter of Hadrian), he at last adopted Hadrian as heir before he died Allegations that the order of events was the other way round have never quite been resolved (Speller, 2003).
Hadrian quickly secured the support of the legions—one potential opponent, Lusius Quietus, was instantly dismissed (Lambert, 1997). The senate's endorsement followed when possibly falsified papers of adoption from Trajan were presented. Nevertheless, this rumor of a falsified document of adoption carried little weight. The real source of Hadrian's legitimacy arose from the endorsement of the armies of Syria and the senate ratification. It is speculated that Trajan's wife Plotina forged the papers, as historical documents show she was quite fond of Hadrian.
Hadrian did not at first go to Rome. He had his hands full sorting out the East and suppressing the Jewish revolt that had broken out under Trajan and then moving to sort out the Danube frontier. Instead, Attianus, Hadrian's former guardian, was put in charge in Rome. There he "discovered" a plot involving four leading senators including Lusius Quietus and demanded of the senate their deaths. There was no question of a trial—they were hunted down and killed.. Because Hadrian was not in Rome at the time, he was able to claim that Attianus had acted on his own initiative. According to Speller, the real reason for their deaths was that they were Trajan's men (Speller, 2003). The crushing of the Jewish revolt in 135 C.E. resulted in Hadrian's edict banning the Jews from living in Palestine, the name of which was changed to Syria Palestine. Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt as a pagan city.
Despite his own excellence as a military administrator, Hadrian's reign was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts. He surrendered Trajan's conquests in Mesopotamia, considering them to be indefensible. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121 C.E., but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace. Hadrian's anti-Jewish persecutions in Judea led to the massive Jewish uprising (132 C.E.–135 C.E.) led by Bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiva. Hadrian's army eventually defeated the revolt and continued the religious persecution of Jews, according to the Babylonian Talmud.
The peace policy was strengthened by the erection of permanent fortifications (limites, singular limes) along the empire's borders. The most famous of these is the massive Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain. The Danube and Rhine borders were strengthened with a series of mostly wooden fortifications, forts, outposts, and watchtowers, the latter specifically improving communications and local area security. To maintain morale and keep the troops from getting restless, Hadrian established intensive drill routines, and personally inspected the armies. Although his coins showed military images almost as often as peaceful ones, Hadrian's policy was peace through strength, even threat (Speller, 2003).
Above all, Hadrian patronized the arts: Hadrian's Villa at Tibur (Tivoli, Italy) was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape, lost in large part to the despoliation of the ruins by the Cardinal d'Este who had much of the marble removed to build his gardens. In Rome, the Pantheon built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was enriched under Hadrian and took the form in which it remains to this day.
Hadrian took his architectural designs very seriously, but it seems no one else did. Apollodorus of Damascus, architect of the Forum of Trajan, dismissed his designs. When Trajan consulted Apollodorus about an architectural problem, Hadrian interrupted to give advice to which Apollodorus replied, "Go away and draw your pumpkins. You know nothing about these problems." The pumpkins referred to Hadrian's drawings of domes like the Serapeum in his Villa. Once Hadrian succeeded Trajan and became emperor, he had Apollodorus exiled and later put to death. It is very possible that this latter story was a later attempt to defame his character, as Hadrian, though popular among a great many across the empire, was not universally admired, both in his lifetime and afterward.
Another one of Hadrian's contributions to the arts was the beard. The portraits of emperors up to this point were all clean shaven, idealized images of Greek athletes. Hadrian wore a beard, as evidenced by all his portraits. Subsequent emperors would be portrayed with beards for more than a century and a half.
Hadrian was a humanist and deeply Hellenophile in all his tastes. While visiting Greece in 125 C.E. he attempted to create a kind of provincial parliament to bind all the semi-autonomous former city states across all of Greece and Ionia (in Asia Minor). This parliament, known as the Panhellenion, failed despite spirited efforts to instill cooperation among the Hellenes. Hadrian was especially famous for his love relationship with a Greek youth, Antinous. While touring Egypt, Antinous mysteriously drowned in the Nile in 130 C.E. Deeply saddened, Hadrian founded the Egyptian city of Antinopolis. Hadrian drew the whole Empire into his mourning, making Antinous the last new god of antiquity.
Hadrian died at his villa in Baiae. He was buried in a mausoleum on the western bank of the Tiber in Rome, a building later transformed into a fortress, Castel Sant'Angelo. The dimensions of his mausoleum, in its original form, were deliberately designed to be the same as the earlier mausoleum of Augustus.
Much of Hadrian's reign was spent traveling. Even prior to becoming emperor, he had traveled abroad with the Roman military, giving him much experience in the matter. More than half his reign was spent outside of Italy. Other emperors often left Rome to simply go to war, returning soon after conflicts concluded. A previous emperor, Nero, once traveled through Greece and was condemned for his self indulgence. Hadrian, by contrast, traveled as a fundamental part of his governing, and made this clear to the Roman Senate and the people. He was able to do this because in Rome he possessed a loyal supporter within the upper echelons of Roman society, a military veteran by the name of Marcius Turbo. Also, there are hints within certain sources that he also employed a secret police force, the frumentarii, to exert control and influence in case anything should go wrong while he journeyed abroad.
Hadrian's visits were marked by handouts which often contained instructions for the construction of new public buildings. Indeed, Hadrian was willful of strengthening the Empire from within through improved infrastructure, as opposed to conquering or annexing perceived enemies. This was often the purpose of his journeys; commissioning new structures, projects, and settlements. His almost evangelical belief in Greek culture strengthened his views. Like many emperors before him, Hadrian's will was almost always obeyed. His traveling court was large, including administrators and likely architects and builders. The burden on the areas he passed through was sometimes great. While his arrival usually brought some benefits, it is possible that those who had to carry the burden were of different class to those who reaped the benefits. For example, huge amounts of provisions were requisitioned during his visit to Egypt. This suggests that the burden on the mainly subsistence farmers must have been intolerable, causing some measure of starvation and hardship (Speller, 2003). At the same time, as in later times all the way through to the European Renaissance, kings were welcomed into their cities or lands, and the financial burden was completely on them, and only indirectly on the poorer class.
Hadrian's first tour came in 121 C.E. and was initially intended to allow himself the freedom to concentrate on his general cultural aims. He traveled north, towards Germania and inspected the Rhine-Danube frontier, allocating funds to improve the defenses. However, it was a voyage to the Empire's very frontiers that represented his perhaps most significant visit; upon hearing of a recent revolt, he journeyed across the sea to Britannia.
Prior to Hadrian's arrival in Great Britain, there had been a major rebellion in Britannia, spanning roughly two years (119 C.E.–121 C.E.). It was here that Hadrian initiated the building of Hadrian's Wall in 122 C.E. The wall was built chiefly to safeguard the frontier province of Britannia by preventing possible future invasions from the northern country of Caledonia (now modern day Scotland). Caledo
How did Hadrian die? - Answers | Of heart failure on July 10th 138 CE.
How did Greek culture influence Hadrian? | Britannica
Hadrian - New World Encyclopedia
Hadrian | Encyclopedia.com
Hadrian — Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2
Alyssa Milano Sex Scene
Ebony Amater
Japanese And Black Lesbian
How Did Hadrian Die
