What Is Hadrian

What Is Hadrian
Hadrian was deeply in love with beautiful Antinous
Book Review: The Fall Of The Roman Empire A New History Of
Rivalries in Science and Technology
A Cosmic Fairy Tale (and True Story)
These San Francisco Pioneers Were the First Chinese American Women to Vote in the U.S.
Guys, Who Can You Blame For Your Monkey Suit?
The Europeans Didn’t Eat Potatoes Because They Were Afraid of Them
The Racist Game That Was Once Popular in America
How a Lesbian Couple Insulted Nazis With Their Paper Bullets
Sting Sings ‘Russians’ Again in Support of Ukraine
H adrian is considered one of the Five Good Roman Emperors by historians. In Roman history, he belongs to the group of elite emperors such as Trajan and Augustus.
He was a good ruler who dedicated his life to the strengthening of the enormous Roman Empire. He built walls and he fortified borders with…
Lessons from History is a platform for writers who share ideas and inspirational stories from world history. The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing.

Email (Required)

Name (Required)

Website

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:

Cookie Policy

The new British Museum exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict is clearly a big success: but who was Hadrian? The subtitle of the exhibition, Empire and Conflict , is surely ambiguous. It is fashionable today to see Rome as being a military dictatorship, ‘perpetrators of extreme violence and destruction’, with the implication that every emperor must have been involved in conflict. But how far is this true of Hadrian? Was he essentially a warmonger and a man of conflict? Or was he, on the other hand, an Empire builder, an administrator who established the pax Romana ? Which side was Hadrian on?
Hadrian (117-138 AD) was the second most important Roman emperor after Augustus, and indeed the second of the four emperors who formed Rome’s golden age in the 2nd century AD. Like Augustus, Hadrian established, or re-established, many of the principles on which Rome’s success depended. But, like Augustus, Hadrian was essentially a manager rather than a fighter, and one of the first things he did was to draw back from some of his predecessor’s conquests, notably in Iraq. The major conflict in his reign was suppression of the Jewish Revolt in 130-136 AD.
The Jews of Cyrene and other cities had already rebelled against Roman rule at the end of Trajan’s reign. Now, at the end of his own reign, Hadrian suppressed their next uprising. This revolt is illustrated in the exhibition by a number of small items from the so-called Cave of Letters, excavated in the 1960s, where a number of the rebels sought refuge. Among the exhibits is a letter from Simon bar Kokhba, the leader of the revolt, showing him in somewhat testy mode, threatening severe punishments to those who disobeyed him: ‘any man from Teko’an who is found with you, the houses in which they dwell will be burned, and you too will be punished’. There is also a set of keys which they brought with them from the homes to which they would never return. But there is also a fine glass bowl showing that despite the difficulties, they were able to bring a certain number of valuables with them and hauled them up to the almost inaccessible cave.
One of his principal achievements was to fix the boundaries of the Roman Empire notably by building the wall across Northern England that bears his name. But it is difficult to do much about frontiers in an exhibition like this: the most interesting display for me was that of the three souvenir cups known from Hadrian’s Wall, the Rudge cup from Alnwick Castle, the Moorlands pan now in the British Museum and the Amiens skillet from France, all of which have inscriptions referring to the wall: all were much smaller than I had thought them to be.
Certainly, Hadrian had a passion for building and for architecture. A surprise exhibit was some pilaster capitals from the Pantheon in Rome which had been rescued and brought to the British Museum when the Pantheon was being restored in 1747. It was particularly appropriate that the exhibition is held in the former Reading room of the British Museum, which in itself was modelled on the Pantheon, and is only a couple of feet smaller in diameter than the original.
The exhibition is dominated by statues of Hadrian, his family, friends and colleagues. The highlight is the huge new statue recently discovered at Sagalossos in Turkey and never before put on display. Also on show is the famous statue discovered in Cyrene in 1867, and currently held in the British Museum, which appears to show him in Greek dress. Indeed, Hadrian was a hellenophile – and was known as Graeculus, the little Greek. However, a detailed re-examination of this statue has shown that the original restorers put the wrong head on the wrong body: Hadrian was not quite as Greek as had been made out.
A statue of his wife Sabina is also on display. But this was a diplomatic marriage, his real passion was for his boyfriend Antinous, who drowned in the Nile and whom he attempted to make into a god. The Romans were scandalised, not because Hadrian was homosexual but because he attempted to make his boyfriend into a god. The exhibition includes a famous bust, once thought to be of Antinous, but now thought to be a copy of a head of Hermes dating from the 4th century BC. The exhibition is also accompanied by an exhibition tome (sadly not a catalogue) by the curator Thorsten Opper.
We attended the opening ceremony, which was dominated by a virtuoso performance by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who began with a rendition in Latin, and went on to a dazzling exhibition of wit and oratory. Ultimately, I felt that the exhibition presents Hadrian as a superb business manager, but it is an interesting and stimulating exhibition, and a great achievement for its curator.
This article is an extract from the full article published in World Archaeology Issue 31. Click here to subscribe
Your email address will not be published.
© 2022 Current Publishing. All rights reserved.

Project co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

HADriAN is a Strategic Partnership Program (2019-1-EL01-KA201-062825)
The European Commission support for the production of this website does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
H ADRiAN – Heritage Awareness DRiving Active Networks is a 24-months program supported by European Commission’s Erasmus+ program , under the KA2 – Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices action, and specifically, KA201 – Strategic Partnerships for secondary school education.
Starting in September 2019, the program and its partners seek to build bridges through innovation among different countries (Greece, the Netherlands and Italy) and different disciplines (heritage management, water management, urban development, social engagement, education).
HADRIAN’s overarching goal is to develop and pilot a ‘teach-the-teacher’ toolkit in order to enhance teachers at secondary schools to facilitate acquisition of cultural knowledge, pointing to heritage, environmental and social awareness.
The program has a three-fold mission :
-To strengthen the role of the educator, by making teachers the facilitators of collective processes, rather than merely the providers of knowledge
-To link heritage awareness to social engagement
-To prepare future generations as the problem-solvers towards environmental, social, cultural and economical sustainability and as the active citizens and leaders of our urban future
Three different heritage waterlines will operate as ‘entry points’ to the relation between Cultural Heritage, Water and Social Engagement : Hadrian Aqueduct (Athens, Greece), the medieval Qanat (Palermo, Italy)and the inner-waterways at Delfshaven neighbourhood (Rotterdam, the Netherlands), already linking different neighborhoods within and among the participant cities in physical terms, are also about to provide links in conceptual terms, through combining different aspects of the societal value of cultural and water resources, i.e. the sense of belonging and ownership, inclusion, identity-building.
To this end, the main outcome of HADriAN will be to re-conceptualize Heritage Awareness , including cultural and environmental aspects, as a driving force to motivate students towards cooperation, community-building and social engagement for sustainable, integrated, place-and people-based urban development, environmental awareness and placemaking.
Combining formal and non-formal educational approaches and methods, the replicable and transferable toolkit will include four specific tools :
i) on-site exploration and field research of the local heritage waterline
ii) co-development and sharing (through an App) a common narrative about the waterline
iii) co-development of a shared vision on the waterline’s management
iv) student-led stakeholder mapping and engagement
The project produces 3 intellectual outputs :
1: An innovative case-study on the re-conceptualization of Heritage Awareness
2: An open manual for teachers in secondary education, providing access and instructions on all the 4 tools
3: The final version of the current website that acts as a hub for all the digital needs of the teachers in using the 4 tools

© 2022 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Hadrian’s Wall is the remains of stone fortifications built by the Roman Empire following its conquest of Britain in the second century A.D. The original structure stretched more than 70 miles across the northern English countryside from the River Tyne near the city of Newcastle and the North Sea, west to the Irish Sea. Hadrian’s Wall included a number of forts as well as a ditch designed to protect against invading troops. The remnants of a stone wall are still visible in many places.
Contrary to popular belief, Hadrian’s Wall does not, nor has it ever, served as the border between England and Scotland, two of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. However, it does hold significance as a UNESCO World Heritage site and a major tourist attraction.
The Romans first attempted to invade the island now known as Britain in 55 B.C., while under the rule of Emperor Julius Caesar .
Although Caesar’s military maneuver was unsuccessful, the armies of the Roman Empire again made a move to conquer the island, which was populated and governed by various Celtic tribes, at the order of Emperor Claudius , in 43 A.D.
Claudius sent Aulus Plautius and some 24,000 soldiers to Britain, and by 79 A.D. they had gained control of the territory that now makes up Wales and southern England. However, they were still meeting fierce resistance from Celtic warriors in what is now northern England.
Under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, the Romans desperately wanted the region now known as Scotland to be part of their growing empire. However, the Scottish fighters, known as Caledonians, fought steadfastly.
It wasn’t until Roman soldiers, under the leadership of Julius Agricola, defeated the Caledonians, killing some 30,000 in 81 A.D., that the empire could consider at least part of Scotland under its control. Still, the Caledonians who survived Agricola’s onslaught fled into the hills and remained stubborn opponents of the Romans.
Over the ensuing decades the Caledonians continued to be troublesome, mounting numerous attacks on the northern outpost of the empire.
By the time Emperor Hadrian came to power in 117 A.D., the Romans no longer sought to expand their territory. Instead, they wanted to protect what they had—from the Caledonians and others.
Under Hadrian’s orders, the Roman governors of Britain began building the wall that would later be named for the emperor to defend the part of Britain they controlled from attack. In Hadrian’s words, they wanted to “separate Romans from the barbarians” to the north.
Scholars believe the wall may have also served as a means of restricting immigration and smuggling into and out of Roman territory.
Hadrian’s Wall is located near the border between modern-day Scotland and England. It runs in an east-west direction, from Wallsend and Newcastle on the River Tyne in the east, traveling about 73 miles west to Bowness-on-Solway on Solway Firth.
The wall took at least six years to complete. Construction started at the east end and moved westward. The work was completed by Roman soldiers.
Historians believe the original plan was to build a wall of stone or turf, fronted by a wide, deep ditch. The wall would feature a guarded gate every mile, with two observation towers in between each gate.
Ultimately, 14 forts were added to the wall, and were augmented by an “earthwork” known as the Vallum to the south. It is essentially a large mound designed to serve as another defensive bulwark.
Of all of these structures, only a portion of the original wall and the Vallum remain.
Although the path of Hadrian’s Wall skirts what is now the border between England and Scotland in some places, the wall is a substantial distance from the modern borderline in others. Thus, it never served a role in the drawing of the present-day border.
Despite the significant undertaking in its construction, Hadrian’s successor as Roman head of state, Antoninus Pius, abandoned the wall following the former’s death in 138 A.D.
Under Antoninus’ orders, Roman soldiers began building a new wall some 100 miles to the north, in what is now southern Scotland. This became known as the Antonine Wall . It was made of turf and was roughly half the length of Hadrian’s Wall, although it featured more forts than its predecessor.
Like the emperors before him, Antoninus was never able to truly defeat the northern tribes, and construction of the Antonine Wall was ultimately abandoned as well.
That a portion of Hadrian’s Wall remains standing today has largely been attributed to the work of John Clayton, an official in the city government of Newcastle and an antiquities scholar, in the 19th century.
To prevent area farmers from removing the stones in the original wall to build homes and/or roads, Clayton began buying up the surrounding land. He started farms on the land and used proceeds from these farms to fund restoration work on Hadrian’s Wall.
Although much of the land was lost after Clayton’s death in 1890, the National Trust of the United Kingdom , a conservation organization, began re-acquiring it piecemeal in the 20th century.
Hadrian’s Wall was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. It remains unguarded, meaning tourists visiting the site have unfettered access, despite concerns over damage.
More recently, when London hosted the Summer Olympics in 2012, Hadrian’s Wall was part of an art installation called “Connecting Light.”
A Hadrian’s Wall walk remains a popular tourist activity, and the wall was included in The Guardian ’s “Where to Go in 2017” list. A visitor’s center explaining the historic significance of the site is reportedly in the works.
History of Hadrian’s Wall. English Heritage .
Hadrian’s Wall. AboutScotland.com .
Hadrian’s Wall borders connected through light. BBC .
Where to go on holiday in 2017: the hot list. The Guardian .
FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.
Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Among the many legacies ...read more
Built on the orders of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and located in Great Britain, Hadrian’s Wall was a defensive fortification that marked the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire for three centuries. The wall measured 73 miles in length and stretched from coast to coast across ...read more
On August 13, 1961, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to ...read more
The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totaling more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history, the Great Wall was originally conceived by Emperor Qin ...read more
Macedonia is a historic region that spans parts of northern Greece and the Balkan Peninsula. The ancient kingdom of Macedonia (sometimes called Macedon) was a crossroads between Mediterranean and Balkan civilizations. Macedonia briefly became the largest empire in the world ...read more
The Roman Forum, known as Forum Romanum in Latin, was a site located at the center of the ancient city of Rome and the location of important religious, political and social activities. Historians believe people first began publicly meeting in the open-air Forum around 500 B.C., ...read more
Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas. Watch Ancient History documentaries on HISTORY Vault What Is Saturnalia? ...read more
The Goths were a nomadic Germanic people who fought against Roman rule in the late 300s and early 400s A.D., helping to bring about the downfall of the Roman Empire, which had controlled much of Europe for centuries. The ascendancy of the Goths is said to have marked the ...read more
Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February 15. Although Valentine’s Day shares its name with a martyred Christian saint, some historians believe the holiday is actually an offshoot of Lupercalia. Unlike Valentine’s Day, however, Lupercalia was a ...read more

Leather Pants Spanking
Blow Nude
Missmilarose

What Is Hadrian

Report Page