Emperor Hadrian

Hadrian or Publius Aelius Hadrianus Augustus was a Roman emperor from 117 AD to 138 AD. He was from a Hispano-Roman family. Moreover, he is the third of the Five Good Emperors:

Hadrian became famous for his building projects on the territory of the Roman Empire, especially Hadrian’s Wall in Britain.

Before reading this article, test your knowledge on the Frequently Asked Questions about Emperor Hadrian

Things to Know about Emperor Hadrian

What was Emperor Hadrian famous for?

Emperor Hadrian is best known for his literary pursuits, substantial building projects throughout the Roman Empire, and, especially, Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain.

What did Emperor Hadrian do to the Jews?

Hadrian sold all Jewish prisoners into slavery, forbade the teaching of the Torah, renamed the province Syria Palaestina, and changed Jerusalem's name to Aelia Capitolina (although scholars are divided over whether to place Jerusalem's name change before or after the revolt). In addition, Jewish Synagogues were replaced with Roman temples.

Why did Hadrian destroy Jerusalem?

By destroying the association of Jews with Judea and forbidding the practice of the Jewish faith, Hadrian aimed to root out a nation that had inflicted heavy casualties on the Roman Empire.

Why did Emperor Hadrian build a wall?

Hadrian spent his reign traveling across his Empire and improving it, mainly its borders.

He built Hadrian's Wall to secure the Empire's north-western border in the province of Britannia. Legionaries were heavily armed infantry who came from across the Empire.

Was Hadrian’s Wall a success?

A World Heritage Site since 1987, Hadrian's Wall is an astounding feat of engineering. It's the best-known and the best-preserved frontier of the Roman Empire. Yet, when Hadrian's men set out to construct it, they were faced with a relentlessly challenging and variable landscape to conquer.

How many soldiers did it take to build Hadrian’s Wall?

It took around 15,000 soldiers about 6 years to build Hadrian's Wall.
It was built by legionaries – the citizen-soldiers of the Roman army. The army contained specialists in masonry, engineering, and architecture.

Who destroyed Hadrian’s Wall?

After Hadrian's rule, the Wall was damaged in 155 and 196 but restored by Septimius Severus (ruled 193-211) from 200 to 205. Large parts of the Wall were destroyed in 297 by Constantius I (ruled 293-305).

How did Hadrian’s reign end?

Hadrian died in the year 138 on 10 July, in his villa at Baiae at 62. Dio Cassius and the Historia Augusta record details of his failing health. He had reigned for 21 years, the longest since Tiberius, and the fourth-longest in the Principate, after Augustus, Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius, and Tiberius.

What was Hadrian’s rise to power?

When Trajan was consul, a higher magistrate's position, Hadrian went with him to the Dacian Wars and became tribune of the plebeians, a powerful political office, in 105. Two years later, he became praetor, a magistrate just below consul.

What did Hadrian build?

Hadrian built the Temple of Venus and Roma, considered the largest temple in Ancient Rome. Located on the Velian Hill, between the eastern edge of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, it was dedicated to the goddesses Venus Felix and Roma Aeterna. Also, during his reign, the famous Wall was built on the northern border of the Empire.

Was Hadrian a dictator?

Hadrian was subsequently revered, despite the number of people he had killed. However, although he was a brilliant cultural administrator, he was a fearsome dictator and frightened off by all.

Where did the stone come from for Hadrian’s Wall?

Stone for Hadrian's Wall was quarried as near as possible to where it was needed. In the central sector, this was quite close, often less than 2km, since the nature of the geology meant that there were bands of sandstone and limestone immediately south of the Whin Sill, which provided the raw materials for the walling and mortar.

Was Hadrian’s Wall rebuilt?

Stonemasons have begun rebuilding a section of Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland as part of conservation work costing more than £500,000. Details of the central section of the world heritage site are on English Heritage's heritage at risk register.

How old is Hadrian’s Wall?

The World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall (c. 122 AD) is over 1,900 years old. It stretches 150 miles across the country, crossing Cumbria, Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear. It includes the 73-mile-long Hadrian's Wall and the Cumbrian coastal defenses.

Is Hadrian’s Wall a dry stone wall?

Hadrian's Wall makes use of locally-available materials. Running for forty-five miles from the east, the Wall was built of stone.

The stone wall had two outer faces of dressed stone, containing a center of rubble. The remaining thirty-one miles of the Wall in the west were turf.

Where is the Hadrian wall located nowadays?

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.

Biography

Hadrian was born in 76 AD near modern Seville, in Italica. His father was Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer, a senator of praetorian rank. Moreover, Hadrian’s mother was Domitia Paulina, daughter of a notable Hispano-Roman senatorial family from Gades. Hadrian had an elder sister, Aelia Domitia Paulina, and a great-nephew, Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, who became Hadrian’s colleague as co-consul in 118 AD. Hadrian’s father spent most of his time out of Rome.

Hadrian was connected to Emperor Trajan, his father’s first cousin. Also, Trajan adopted Hadrian before his death since the Emperor was childless. Moreover, his parents died in 86 AD, when he was only ten years old. So he and his elder sister became under the guardianship of Trajan and Publius Acilius Attianus. Here is a good video about Hadrian.

Hadrian had passion for Greek literature and culture, which earned him the nickname Graeculus (Greekling)

His wife’s name was Pauline, and they had a daughter, Julia Serviana Paulina.

Emperor

When Hadrian became a new emperor, he rewarded the legions’ loyalty with the customary bonus. He spent some time in the east, suppressing the Jewish revolt that had broken out under Emperor Trajan. Hadrian was an excellent administrator and devoted himself to the army and its discipline. 

Hadrian is known for the fact that he was absent from Rome for the most part of his reign

Interestingly, Hadrian’s main rivals were close friends of Emperor Trajan, senior members of the imperial council. In 125 AD, Hadrian appointed Marcius Turbo as his Praetorian Prefect. His building projects most notably mark his reign.

Jerusalem

Even though Hadrian was highly educated, his policy of peaceful relations was not always followed. In 130 AD, Hadrian visited Jerusalem, which was still in ruins after the First Roman-Jewish War of 66-73 AD. He rebuilt the city following his plan and renamed it Aelia Capitolina Jupiter Capitolinus in honor of himself and the king of the Roman gods. However, when he built a temple to Jupiter on the ruins of the Temple of Solomon, the so-called Second Temple, considered sacred to the Jews, the population rebelled under the leadership of Simon Bar-Kokhbah in what became known as the Kokhbah’s Rebellion (132-136 AD).

Roman losses in This campaign were huge, but the Jewish losses weren’t less significant. By the time the uprising was crushed, 580,000 Jews had been killed and more than 1,000 cities and villages destroyed. Then Hadrian expelled the remaining Jews from the region and renamed it Syria Palaestina in honor of the traditional enemies of the Jewish people – the Philistines. He ordered the Torah to be publicly burned, executed Jewish scholars and prohibited the practice and observance of Judaism.

Death

When Hadrian returned to Rome, he started writing poetry and participating in administrative affairs. He named his successor Antoninus Pius with the aim to make Antoninus adopt the young Marcus Aurelius to follow him. Hadrian died in 138 AD when he was 62. The main reason for his death was a heart attack. The Emperor was buried first at Puteoli, but then Antoninus Pius created the extraordinary Tomb of Hadrian in Rome, and his body was cremated and the ashes placed to the tomb.

Travels

Hadrian was traveling a lot. More than half of his reign was spent outside Italy. Hadrian traveled for various reasons if previous emperors left Rome primarily because of wars and then returned to the Eternal City. The Emperor supported the implementation of provincial towns (municipia) and semi-autonomous urban communities with their laws in contrast to the creation of new Roman colonies with Roman constitutions.

Building Projects

Hadrian did a lot of significant building projects. For instance, he established cities throughout the Balkan Peninsula, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Greece. Moreover, the Arch of Hadrian was constructed by the citizens of Athens in 131 AD in honor of the EEmperoras, a founder of the city. The Emperor dedicated several sites in Greece to his lover Antinous, who drowned in the Nile River in 130 AD. The young man’s death affected Hadrian so much that he had him deified. This is the reason why the cult in honor of Antinous grew.

Another important building project was the city of Antinoöpolis in Egypt. In Rome, Hadrian rebuilt many villas and buildings. Most of these constructions survived for centuries. The Emperor had a passion for architecture and took part in project planning.

Hadrian rebuilt famous Pantheon in Rome, which had been destroyed by fire and Trajan’s Forum

The Wall of Hadrian

One of the most important projects by Hadrian is Hadrian’s Wall in North Britain.

The building of the Wall was begun in 122 AD. It marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain. Since it was long and massive, the Wall was also dedicated to showing the power of Rome. Its original width was 9.7 feet (3 m) and height 16-20 feet (6 m) east of the River Irthing, made of stone, and 20 feet wide (6 m) by 11 feet high (3.5 m) west of the river, made of stone and turf. The Hadrian’s Wall’s length was 73 miles (120 km).

Hadrian’s Wall was built in six years.

Buildings in Rome built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian

Emperor Hadrian was known for his architectural patronage and had numerous structures built in Rome and throughout the Roman Empire during his reign. Here’s a list of notable buildings and structures in Rome attributed to Hadrian:

1. Hadrian’s Temple (Temple of Deified Hadrian): Built in the Campus Martius, this temple was dedicated to the deified Hadrian by his successor, Antoninus Pius.
2. Hadrian’s Mausoleum (Castel Sant’Angelo): Originally constructed as a mausoleum for Hadrian and his family, this building was later transformed into a fortress and is now known as Castel Sant’Angelo. It’s connected to the city by the Pons Aelius, another Hadrianic construction.
3. Pantheon: Although the original Pantheon was built during the reign of Augustus by Marcus Agrippa, it was Hadrian who ordered the structure to be rebuilt after it was damaged by fire. With its iconic dome, the current structure dates back to Hadrian’s time.
4. Villa Romana: Situated on the right bank of the Tiber, it’s believed to have been a sort of retreat for Hadrian in Rome, separate from his much larger Villa at Tivoli.
5. Baths of Neptune: Hadrian contributed to completing the Baths of Neptune, which were started under Trajan. These baths were adorned with mosaics representing Neptune and Amphitrite.
6. Restorations and Rebuildings: In addition to constructing new buildings, Hadrian undertook extensive restoration projects in Rome, repairing old temples, shrines, public buildings, and aqueducts.
7. Rome’s Aqueducts: Hadrian also added to Rome’s aqueducts, ensuring a steady water supply to the city’s growing population.

Perhaps the most famous construction associated with Hadrian outside Rome is the Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa) in Tivoli. This vast retreat showcased various architectural styles from different parts of the empire.

It’s important to note that while Hadrian is credited with these constructions, he often had a team of skilled architects and builders working under his patronage. Moreover, some of these constructions, like the Pantheon, were rebuilds or renovations of pre-existing structures.

Author: Kate Zusmann

I have lived in the Eternal City for the past 12 years. They say every angle of Rome has its history, and I'm here to tell you about the most intriguing historical facts and city legends. :)