Publius Aelius Hadrianus (Hadrian)

76-138 c.e.

Emperor

Sources

Provincial Beginnings. Born in 76 into a family of Italian settlers who lived in Spain, Publius Aelius Hadrianus was educated in Rome, and after the death of his father, he came under the influence of a paternal cousin, the emperor Trajan. He served in political and military posts in the provinces, especially along the Danube and in Macedonia. He followed his patron into the upper echelon of imperial politics and even married his grandniece. Hadrian rapidly advanced to greater positions of power, gaining the consulate in 107, only to suffer a decade of lesser political appointments when he lost political favor after the death of Licinius Sura, a powerful supporter of Trajan.

On the Road. In 117 C.E., Hadrian inherited a stable and prosperous empire from his adoptive father, Trajan, but he departed from his predecessor’s policy of rapid expansion and expensive conquest. He effectively froze the borders of the empire and directed his attentions to the defense of the frontiers and the infrastructure of the provinces. During his far-flung travels throughout the empire, he often paid for or ordered others to pay for major improvements in waterworks, road construction, and other civic amenities. His wall in Britain—a sharp line separating Roman from non-Roman—illustrates the inward focus of his policies. A consummate tourist, his interest in the history and culture of Roman territories was representative of others of his time. Even as he was dying, in 138, he took time to pen a letter describing his emotions.

Sources

Anthony R. Birley, “Hadrian” in The Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 662-663.

Birley, Hadrian: The Restless Emperor (London & New York: Routledge, 1997).

Mary T. Boatwright, Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).