| Hadrian: The Roman Emperor who built a wall |
| Hadrian was Roman emperor from 117 to 138 CE and he is known as the third of the Five | Párr. 1 |
| Good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius) who ruled |
| justly. Born Publius Aelius Hadrianus, probably in Hispania, Hadrian is best known for his |
| substantial building projects throughout the Roman Empire and, especially, Hadrian's |
| 5 | Wall in northern Britain. |
| As a young man, Hadrian was well educated in his hometown of Italica Hispania | Párr. 2 |
| modern day Seville, Spain) and left for Rome around the age of 14. His first military service |
| was as Tribune under Emperor Nerva (r. 96-98 CE). When Nerva died, Trajan ascended to |
| the throne. Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) was the first Roman ruler of provincial origin. |
| 10 | Trajan died on campaign in Cilicia in 117 CE, with Hadrian in command of his rearguard, |
| and is not believed to have named a successor. Trajan's wife, Plotina (who was fond of |
| Hadrian) signed the papers of succession, and it is thought that she, not the emperor, was |
| responsible for Hadrian's adoption as heir. However that may be, it is known that Trajan |
| respected Hadrian and had considered him as his successor even if he did not officially name |
| 15 | him as such. Hadrian's service to Trajan is well documented through the various important |
| positions he held before becoming emperor of Rome. |
| His popularity as emperor is attested to by the fact that Hadrian was absent from | Párr. 3 |
| Rome for the better part of his reign. Earlier Roman rulers, such as Nero, were harshly |
| criticized for spending less time away from the city. His devotion to the army was such that |
| 20 | he would sleep and eat among the common soldiers, and he is commonly depicted in military |
| attire even though his regime is marked by relative peace. |
| Hadrian's building projects are perhaps his most enduring legacy. He | Párr. 4 |
| established cities throughout the Balkan Peninsula, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Greece. His love |
| for Greece and Greek literature was such that he was known as 'Graeculus' (Greekling) in his |
| 25 | youth, and his philhellenism did not dissipate with age. He visited Greece at least twice |
| (probably more) and participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries, of which he was an initiate. |
| Of all his significant monuments and buildings, Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain is | Párr. 5 |
| the most famous. Construction of the wall, known in antiquity as Vallum Hadriani, was |
| begun around 122 and corresponded to Hadrian's visit to the province. It marked the northern |
| 30 | boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain, but the length and breadth of the project |
| (stretching, as it did, from coast to coast) suggests that the more important purpose of the |
| wall was a show of Rome's power. The wall was originally 9.7 feet wide (3 m) and 16-20 |
| feet high (c. 6 m) east of the River Irthing, all built of stone, and 20 feet wide (6 m) by 11 |
| feet high (3.5 m) west of the river, made up of stone and turf, stretching 73 miles (120 km) |
| 35 | across uneven terrain. It was built in six years by the legions stationed in Britain. There were |
| between 14-17 fortifications along the length of the wall and a vallum (a ditch purposefully |
| constructed of earthworks) which ran parallel to the wall. The Vallum measured 20 feet (6 |
| m) wide by 10 feet (3 m) deep, flanked by large mounds of tightly packed earth. |
| Although Hadrian was a learned and cultivated man, his policy of peaceful relations | Párr. 6 |
| 40 | and negotiations was not always adhered to. In 130, Hadrian visited Jerusalem, which was |
| still in ruins from the First Roman-Jewish War of 66-73. He rebuilt Jerusalem according to |
| his own designs and renamed it Aelia Capitolina Jupiter Capitolinus after himself and the |
| king of the Roman gods. When he built a temple to Jupiter on the ruins of the Temple |
| of Solomon (the so-called Second Temple, considered sacred by the Jews), the populace rose |
| 45 | up under the leadership of Simon bar Kochba (also given as Shimon Bar-Cochba, Bar |
| Kokhbah, Ben-Cozba, Cosiba or Coziba) in what has come to be known as the Bar-Kochba |
| Revolt (132-136 CE). Roman losses in this campaign were enormous but Jewish losses were |
| no less significant. 580,000 Jews had been killed and over 1000 towns and villages destroyed. |
| Hadrian then banished the remaining Jews from the region 580,000 Jews had been killed and |
| 50 | over 1000 towns and villages destroyed. Hadrian then banished the remaining Jews from the |
| region and renamed it Syria Palaestina after the traditional enemies of the Jewish people, the |
| Philistines. He ordered a public burning of the Torah, executed the Jewish scholars, and |
| prohibited the practice and observance of Judaism. |
| His health now failing, Hadrian returned to Rome and occupied himself | Párr. 7 |
| 55 | by writing poetry and tending to administrative affairs. He named as his successor Antoninus |
| Pius (r. 138-161 CE) on the stipulation that Antoninus would adopt the young Marcus |
| Aurelius (r. 161-180 CE) to follow. Hadrian died in 138, presumably of a heart attack, at the |
| age of 62. He was buried first at Puteoli, on the grounds of the former estate of the |
| rhetorician Cicero (as homage to Hadrian's love of learning), but when Antoninus Pius |
| 60 | completed the great Tomb of Hadrian in Rome the following year, his body was cremated |
| and the ashes interred there with his wife and son. Antoninus Pius had him deified and temples |
| built in his honor. |
| Mark, J. J. (2021, Mayo 18). Hadrian. World History Encyclopedia. | |
| https://www.worldhistory.org/hadrian/ |