Hadrian: 76 ADE to 138 ADE

The future Roman emperor Hadrian was born in Rome in the year 76 AD.He was born to Publius Aelius Hadrianus and Domita Paulina.Hadrian's father was a cousin of the emperor Trajan which put him in a possible position of becomming emperor because of the bloodline.Upon the death of his father in ,86 AD,Hadrian became the ward of Trajan at the age of 10 years.

Upon the ascention of Trajan as emperor,Hadrians career began to advance. In 96 AD Hadrian held his first public office as a tribune of Macedonia .Following his Tribuneship,Hadrian served in Trajan's Dacian wars between 101 AD and 106 AD.Also,Hadrian was made Quaestor by Trajan in 101 AD and later Quaestor in 106 AD. Hadrian was elected to his first consolship in 106 AD and later again in 118 AD.In 114 AD Hadrian was made govenor of Syria where he became disliked due to the fact that he was accused of executing four senators which he denied by saying that the senate ordered the executions,not him.

Trajan died in 117 AD and Hadrian immediately suceeded to the throne of emperor. Immediately upon his ascention,Hadrian alienated the senate because of the way that they had handeled a past conspiracy against him.In this conspiracy,four ex senators had plotted treason and were consequently executed by thge time Hadrian became emperor.Harian denied those accusations but he was still relativly unpopular with the people and so set out to repair his reputation.Hadrian started by staging a Parthian Triumph that Trajan had won before his death and he also cut down on the taxes and held lavish gladitorial games.As well,he continued the policies of helping the poor children of Rome,a policy which had been iniated by Nerva and continued by Trajan.

By ways of millitary conquests,not much happened during Hadrian's reign.Almost immediately upon becomming emperor,Hadrian returned most eastern lands that Trajan had conquored because he believed that the empire was too big for it's borders to be sucessfully guarded.He believed that it was important to strengthen Rome's frontiers and to not conquor as much.To accomplish this he artifically defended ,with walls and fortifications,the non natural boundries of the empire and his most famous wall ,known as Hadrians Wall, was built in northern Britain to keep dangerous invaders out of the frontier province.

The most notable part of Hadrians reign was his extensive tour of the whole empire.Hadrian spent most of his time as emperor in other parts of the empire ,other than Italy.He traveled all the way from Greece to Britain and Africa.Hadrian was a deep lover of Greek architecture and so built great public buildings throughout the empire.Th chief reason for Hadrian's visit of the empire ,however,was for boundry security and army training and he made it a habit to march with the soldiers while travelling from place to place.Only one war was fought during his reign and it involved yet another Jewish Revolt in Judea which he quieted in 135 AD through use of force.He alsomade four new provinces which were later abolished.

Hadrian's homosexual relationship with the Greek youth Antinous is well known through history and remains one of the defining parts of his reign.It is said that ,while the two were on a tour of Egypt, Antinous fell off of a barge in the Nile and died.The loss of his young lover made Hadrian go insane and he immediately diefied the youth and had cults developed to worship him.Hadrian also named some cities throughout the empire after him.

With the death of Antinous,Hadrian was getting old and sick and so became a recluse whose final years were a reign of terror,with increased executions.During this time he spent most of his time in his grand country villa,the remains of which still stand today.After numerous failed attempts at a sucessor,Hadrian chose Antonius Pius to suceed him on the condition that he adopt the young Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Aurelius Commodius Verus (Lucius Verus) as his sucessors.

Hadrian later died in the year 138 AD in his villa and was later diefied upon the firm assistance of Antonius.Hadrian died an unpopular man with the senate and it was only with the intervention of Antonius,who was later given the title "Pius" for his merciful act towards the dead emperor.Hadrian was 60 when he died and had ruled Rome for over 20 years.