Hellenophile Hadrian, third "good emperor" of the Antonine dynasty
The goddess of Rome and the geniuses of the Senate and the Roman people salute Hadrian, relief, Capitoline Museum
Today we will continue the story about the emperors of the golden age of the Roman stories. From previous article you must remember that the only member of the family of Trajan, the "second good emperor" of the Antonine dynasty, was his cousin Hadrian. He became his heir. Today we will talk a little about this man.
The origin and early life of the third emperor of the Antonine dynasty
В first article it was said that Trajan was born in the city of Italica, which was located near modern Seville. At the end of the Second Punic War, Scipio Africanus settled some of his soldiers here. Among them was the ancestor of Hadrian. However, this family, having become rich in the oil trade, returned to Rome.
Hadrian's father, Publius Aelius Afer, rose to the rank of praetor. The birthplace of his son - Publius Aelius Hadrian, the future emperor, is called by various sources both Rome and Italica, it happened on January 24, 76. As a child, during his studies, he showed great interest in Greek literature and therefore even received the nickname "Greek" from his classmates. And in the future, throughout his life, Adrian was a big fan of Greek culture.
At the age of 10, the boy was orphaned and one of his two guardians was a distant relative - 30-year-old praetor Mark Ulpius Trajan, who would soon lead the VII Double Legion. In the year 95, we see Adrian as a military tribune of the II Auxiliary Legion stationed in Pannonia, in the 96th he was transferred to the V Macedonian Legion, which was in Moesia.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of January 97, an event occurred in Rome that dramatically changed the fate of Hadrian. Emperor Nerva, who did not enjoy authority in the army, adopted the proconsul of Upper Germany Trajan and appointed him his heir. For Adrian's former guardian, this decision of Nerva was completely unexpected and does not seem to have pleased him too much. At least, after the imminent death of Nerva, Trajan was in no hurry to Rome and for another year he was engaged in the affairs of his province. Adrian then came to him in the Colony of Agrippina (Cologne), along with a delegation of the Danube legions, and remained to serve in Germany - in the XXII Primordial Legion.
It must be said that for a long time Trajan did not single out his relative in any way, even he appointed him his heir only on the eve of his death. Such indifference of the emperor to the future successor is even somewhat surprising. After all, Adrian was not at all a spoiled representative of the Roman golden youth. In the collection "History of Augusts" it is said about him:
“He was tall, distinguished by external grace, curled his hair with a comb, let go of his beard to hide the natural flaws of his face (warts), had a strong physique. He rode a lot and walked a lot, always doing exercises with weapons and spear. On the hunt, he very often killed lions with his own hands. On the hunt, he broke his collarbone and rib.
Note the message about the growing beard: before Hadrian, all Roman emperors preferred to shave.
It is also reported that Adrian invariably shared with the soldiers all the hardships of the march and enjoyed the love of the soldiers.
Bronze statue of Hadrian discovered in Israel at Camp VI of the Iron Legion
Perhaps the reason for Trajan's coldness towards Hadrian was different views on the future of the empire. Trajan pursued an aggressive policy, while Hadrian believed that he should focus on protecting existing territories and, having become emperor, abandoned some of the conquests of his predecessor.
But Trajan's wife, Pompey Plotina, on the contrary, patronized the young man. Dion Cassius even suspects her of having a love affair with Hadrian, but Pliny and Aurelius Victor characterize Trajan's wife as an exceptionally virtuous and chaste woman.
Sculpture of the head of Pompeii Plotina. Roman National Museum
It was she who, in the year 100, persuaded Trajan to give permission for the marriage of Hadrian with the great-niece of the emperor Vibia Sabina.
It is not known whether Adrian needed her as a woman, or whether the marriage with her pursued only the goal of somehow getting closer to Trajan, who did not favor him? At least there were no children in Adrian's family, but Antina's beloved lover, on the contrary, was. He was a native of the Bithynian city of Claudiopolis, founded by Greek settlers from Arcadia.
Around the year 123, the boy was sent to study in Rome, at which time he was from 11 to 13 years old. In 125, Antinous met with Adrian, who returned to Rome for a while, with whom he went to Greece. Since 128, this young man has followed Trajan relentlessly. During one of the hunts, a huge lion knocked Antinous off his horse with his paw, but the emperor saved him.
Antinous, sculpture, Athens, National Archaeological Museum
Bust of Hadrian, British Museum
But let's go back a little, to the days of Adrian's youth.
Adrian received his first magistracy only in 101 at the age of 25 - he became a quaestor and thus took the first step along the "road of honor" (cursus honorum). Speaking with a speech of thanks in the Senate, he was then embarrassed and ridiculed for his lack of eloquence. This lesson was learned, Hadrian began to practice diligently in rhetoric and soon even began to compose speeches for the emperor.
By 106, Hadrian had risen to the rank of praetor and given command of Minerva's legion. With him, he managed to take part in the battles of the II Dacian War, receiving two awards for bravery. Finally, in 107, Adrian was appointed protector legate of Pannonia, a troubled province that was constantly attacked by Sarmatian tribes. He managed it quite successfully, repelling another attack of the Sarmatians and concluding a profitable missionary agreement with them. The reward was the election of consul.
Researchers believe that just at this time, the aging Trajan began to think about a successor and turned his gaze to the only male relative. However, he did not take any practical steps to secure his status as heir.
In 113, Adrian arrived at the headquarters of Trajan, who was with the army in Parthia, participated in the war in the territories of Assyria and Mesopotamia. In 117, he was appointed governor of Syria and responsible for the logistics of the army. However, already in the summer of that year, Trajan, who was seriously ill, decided to return to Rome. He handed over the command of the troops to Adrian.
The emperor did not reach Rome - on August 8 he died in the Cilician city of Selinus (Selinunte). Just before his death, he adopted Adrian, appointing him as his heir. Such a late adoption gave rise to rumors about the forgery of the will of the emperor, allegedly committed by Trajan's wife, Pompeia Plotina. This woman, as we remember, always patronized Adrian. The eastern legions recognized the new emperor, and in Rome there were some complications.
Four of Trajan's closest associates - Cornelius Palma, Avidius Nigrinus, Publius Celsus and Lusius Quiet conspired to prevent the recognition of Hadrian as emperor. Everything was decided by the support of the praetorian prefect Publius Acilius Attian. And even the emperors guarded by them did not dare to argue with the Praetorians unless absolutely necessary. Quiet was executed.
Beginning of Emperor Hadrian's reign
Silver denarius depicting Hadrian, 119
Meanwhile, it was already becoming clear to the most intelligent people that the Roman Empire could not preserve many of the previous conquests. Rome literally "bite off more than it could swallow and digest." And the last victories of the militant emperor Trajan turned out to be unnecessary and fruitless. The occupied territories were poorly controlled by the Romans even during the life of this emperor. Now the situation has escalated sharply.
Not only did the uprising begin in the recently conquered lands of Armenia, Assyria and Mesopotamia, so the rebellions also began in Judea, and then in Egypt, Cyrenaica and Cyprus. Assyria and Mesopotamia had to be left, Armenia withdrew from the Roman provinces, becoming a protectorate of Rome. However, the uprisings in the Roman provinces were suppressed.
The casualties among the population of the rebellious regions were huge, some territories were completely deserted, and they had to be re-populated by Roman colonists. Peace was concluded with Parthia on the condition of the return of all previously conquered lands. And on the Danube, the new provinces that became part of the Roman Empire after the two Dacian wars were attacked by the Sarmatians and Roxolans.
The situation on the borders of Dacia was such that Hadrian was seriously thinking about leaving all these hard-won lands. However, a huge number of Roman and Italic colonists had already settled here, and Trajan's old associates categorically objected to such a decision.
Adrian nevertheless withdrew troops from Lower Oltenia, Muntenia, the Carpathians and Southern Moldavia. To protect Upper and Lower Dacia, a system of ramparts was hastily erected. There was no longer any talk of offensive actions. An agreement was concluded with the Roxolans on the actual payment of tribute to them. Only after that, Adrian was finally able to come to Rome, where he spent three years arranging business.
And then began traveling across the vast territory of the empire. Hadrian became the most actively traveled emperor. During the 21 years of his reign in Rome, he spent approximately nine and a half years.
Official trips of Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian's travel itineraries
First, Hadrian went to Gaul, as well as to the Rhine and Danube provinces. Without stopping in Rome, he visited Britain, where he ordered to begin work on the construction of a protective rampart, later called Adrianov.
Section of Adrian's Wall
The total length of the built fortifications was 117 km.
Then there was a trip to Spain and Mauritania, from where I had to urgently return to Rome, since news was received of a tense situation on the border with Parthia. Thanks to successful negotiations, a new war with the Parthians was avoided. Hadrian went to Antioch and Palmyra, then to the Balkans, where he founded the city of Adrianople in Thrace. On the way he visited Athens and was initiated there into the Eleusinian mysteries.
Returning to Rome, he turned to Sicily, where he climbed Mount Etna. Soon he again went to Africa, where in Numidia he observed the teachings of the Roman troops. Next was a trip to Syria. In 130, Hadrian reached Jerusalem, which he ordered to rebuild, and on the site of the destroyed temple of Solomon to build the temple of Capitoline Jupiter. This caused great displeasure of the locals and later became one of the reasons for the Bar Kokhba uprising.
In Egypt, where this emperor later went, Hadrian lost his favorite Antinous, who drowned while traveling on the Nile. The circumstances of his death are not clear, but Aurelius Victor, in his work On the Caesars, claimed that the Egyptian priests told Hadrian that his life could be extended if someone agreed to die for him. Upon learning of this, Antinous allegedly deliberately sacrificed himself. The city of Antinopol was built on the site of his death, the court astronomers named a constellation in honor of Antinous, which was abolished only in the XNUMXth century. Antinous was deified and became the last and "youngest" god of Antiquity. His cult, oddly enough, quickly spread throughout the empire.
After the death of Antinous, Adrian traveled through Syria and Asia Minor to Athens, where he learned about a new uprising of the Jews. The leader of the rebellion was Bar-Kochba (son of a star), whom many Jews considered the messiah.
Bar Kokhba, Israeli stamp
The rebels controlled 50 cities, including Jerusalem, and a large part of the country. The war against them was led by Sextus Julius Severus, summoned from Britain, whose army numbered up to 60 thousand people. He had to give 54 battles, until finally the last detachments of the rebels were blocked in the fortress of Betar. After its fall, Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews were resettled in other provinces with a ban on returning to Judea.
In general, there was no peace, and Adrian devoted all the time of his reign to trying to patch up the imperial “Trishkin caftan”, on which more and more holes appeared one after another. To replenish the personnel of the legions, they began to accept natives of the recently conquered provinces, and new units were created in which recruits recruited from the barbarians (numbers) were armed with their usual weapons.
Administrative activities of Adrian
However, Adrian cared not only about the condition of the troops and the construction of fortifications. The Imperial Council, which previously met only occasionally, became a permanent body and could make fundamental changes in the system of law.
The Imperial Chancellery, which previously handled the personal and domestic affairs of August, became a state institution, and educated people of equestrian origin replaced the imperial freedmen in it. Order was put in place in the system of public positions, and now applicants could clearly imagine the prospects for their career growth. The famous jurist Salvius Ulpian attempted to codify Roman law.
You probably remember how Trajan, on a campaign, once stayed in the city to satisfy the request of a woman who asked him for justice in relation to the murderers of her son. A similar story is told about Hadrian and Cassius Dio:
“Once, when a certain poor widow wanted to convey a petition to Adrian, the emperor, in a hurry somewhere, said that he had no time, and wanted to pass by. The widow replied: Then stop being an emperor! And Adrian accepted her request.
Italy under Hadrian was divided into 4 parts, each of which was headed by the imperial consul, who acted as an visiting judge. One of them was Hadrian's successor, Antoninus Pius, he got Etruria and Umbria.
Large-scale construction work was launched in Rome and in the provinces. The most significant projects carried out during the reign of Hadrian were, of course, the Pantheon and the mausoleum, which at that time became the tallest building in Rome), and in the XIV century it was rebuilt into the Castel Sant'Angelo (currently it houses the Military Historical museum).
Mausoleum of Hadrian (Castle of the Holy Angel), Rome
Jean Francois Thomas de Thomon. View of the Pantheon in Rome
A lot of buildings were built in Athens, a canal was laid from Stimfal to Corinth, and the draining of Lake Futsin was completed.
The last years of the life of Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian's head. Bronze, Louvre
Adrian returned to Rome in 136, already a very sick man. The 60-year-old emperor settled in a villa in Baiae. Suffering from illness and depression, he surrounded himself with various healers and occult specialists, including Persian magicians, Egyptian soothsayers, and Babylonian astrologers.
But this emperor did not have relations with Christians, and it is with his name that the well-known legend about the executed Christian girls with the names Pistis, Elpis, Agape (literally translated into Russian - faith, hope, love) and their mother Sophia is associated ( wisdom), who died of grief.
True, this legend appeared only in the XNUMXth century, and here we see a personification of Christian virtues that has nothing to do with real people. But there were persecutions of other Christians, and the appearance of the name Adrian in this tradition is not accidental.
The emperor, who had no children, increasingly thought about the future state, not knowing who to declare heir.
At first, he wanted to bequeath the throne to his adopted son Lucius Aelius Commodus, whom some considered his lover. However, the heir presumptive died on 1 January 138. After that, Adrian appointed 52-year-old Titus Aurelius Antoninus as his successor, ordering him to adopt 7-year-old Lucius Aelius Verus (son of Commodus) and 17-year-old Marcus Annius Verus (stepson of the third husband of Adrian's mother), better known as Marcus Aurelius. Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius would later become co-emperors.
Adrian's character had deteriorated significantly in recent years, and he often fell into unreasonable and unreasonable anger. He limited the rights of the Senate, some senators were executed. And therefore, after his death on July 10, 138, the senate intended to declare the “third good emperor” a tyrant and curse his memory.
But Antonin stopped these attempts and even managed to achieve the deification of Hadrian. It was for this that he received the nickname Pius, that is, “Pious” (“doing his duty in relation to the gods and relatives”). We will talk about it in the next article.
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