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Hadrian (/ ˈ h eɪ d r i ən /, HAY-dree-ən; Latin: Publius Aelius Hadrianus [(h)adriˈjaːnus]; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, the Aeli Hadriani, came from the town of ...
- Townley Hadrian
A bust of Hadrian (r. 117 – 138 AD), the second-century...
- Domitia Paulina
Mother of Hadrian. Domitia Paulina or Paullina, Domitia...
- Hispania Baetica
Roman Temple of Cordoba (1st century AD) Emperor Trajan...
- Antinoöpolis
Antinoöpolis (also Antinoopolis, Antinoë, Antinopolis;...
- Vibia Sabina
Early life. After her father's death in 84, Sabina and her...
- Temple of Venus and Roma
The Temple of Venus and Roma (Latin: Templum Veneris et...
- Hadrian's Wall
The largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain, it runs...
- Townley Hadrian
- Overview
- Early life
- Rise to power
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.
What was Hadrian’s architectural legacy?
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?
Learn more about Hadrian’s artistic temperament.
What was Hadrian’s relationship with his Jewish subjects?
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.
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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.
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May 18, 2021 · Learn about Hadrian, the third of the Five Good Emperors who ruled Rome from 117 to 138 CE. Discover his literary pursuits, building projects, love affairs, and role in the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
- Joshua J. Mark
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Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus, 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is well known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman territory in Britain. In Rome, he built the Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo (originally Hadrian's Tomb) and the Temple of Venus and Roma.
Jan 19, 2018 · 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...
May 23, 2018 · History. Ancient History, Rome: Biographies. Hadrian. views 2,703,052 updated May 23 2018. Hadrian. The Roman emperor Hadrian (76-138), or Publius Aelius Hadrianus, reversed the expansionist policies of Rome in a permanent shift to the defensive. Hadrian was born in Rome on Jan. 24, 76.
