HADRIAN 117AD Ascalon in Judaea Rare Authentic Ancient Roman Coin i47194

Item: i47194

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Hadrian
–
Roman Emperor
: 117-138 A.D. –

Bronze 23mm (12.39 grams) of
Ascalon

in
Judaea

Reference: Sear GIC 1250
CEBACTOC, Laureate head right.
ACKAΛΩ, City-goddess standing left on prow, holding
standard and aphlaston; altar in field to left; to right, dove and date.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Judea (
Latin
: IVDAEA),
sometimes spelled in its original Latin forms of Judæa, Judaea or
Iudaea to distinguish it from
Judea
proper, is a term used by historians to
refer to the
Roman province
that incorporated the
geographical regions of
Judea
,
Samaria
, and
Idumea
, and which extended over parts of the
former regions of the
Hasmonean
and
Herodian
kingdoms of Israel. It was named after
Herod Archelaus
‘s
Tetrarchy of Judea
, of which it was an
expansion, the latter name deriving from the
Kingdom of Judah
of the 6th century BCE.

Rome’s involvement in the area dated from 63 BCE, following the end of the
Third Mithridatic War
, when Rome made
Syria
a province. In that year, after the
defeat of
Mithridates VI of Pontus
, the
proconsul
Pompeius Magnus (Pompey
the Great)
sacked Jerusalem
and entered the
Jerusalem Temple
. Subsequently, during the 1st
century BCE, the
Herodian Kingdom
was established as a Roman
client kingdom
and then in 6 CE parts became a
province
of the
Roman Empire
.

Judea province was the scene of unrest at its founding during the
Census of Quirinius
and several wars were
fought in its history, known as the
Jewish-Roman wars
.
The Temple was destroyed in 70
as part of the
Great Jewish Revolt
resulting in the
institution of the
Fiscus Judaicus
, and after
Bar Kokhba’s revolt
(132–135 CE), the Roman
Emperor
Hadrian
changed the name of the province to
Syria Palaestina
and
Jerusalem
to
Aelia Capitolina
, which certain scholars
conclude was done in an attempt to remove the relationship of the Jewish people
to the region.

Relations with Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties

Pompey in the Temple of Jerusalem, by
Jean Fouquet

The first intervention of Rome in the region dates from 63 BCE, following the
end of the
Third Mithridatic War
, when Rome made a
province of
Syria
. After the defeat of
Mithridates VI of Pontus
,
Pompey
(Pompey the Great) remained there to
secure the area.

The region at the time was not a peaceful place. The Queen of Judaea
Salome Alexandra
had recently died and her
sons, Hyrcanus II
and
Aristobulus II
, divided against each other in a
civil war.

In 63 BCE, Aristobulus was besieged in
Jerusalem
by his brother’s armies. He sent an
envoy to
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
, Pompey’s
representative in the area. Aristobulus offered a massive bribe to be rescued,
which Pompey promptly accepted. Afterwards, Aristobulus accused Scaurus of
extortion. Since Scaurus was Pompey’s brother in law and protégée, the general
retaliated by putting Hyrcanus in charge of the kingdom as
Ethnarch
and
High Priest
, but he was denied the title of
King.

When Pompey was defeated by
Julius Caesar
, Hyrcanus was succeeded by his
courtier

Antipater the Idumaean
, also known as Antipas,
as the first
Roman Procurator
. In 57–55 BCE,
Aulus Gabinius
, proconsul of
Syria
, split the former
Hasmonean
Kingdom of Israel into five districts
of the Sanhedrin
.

Both Caesar and Antipater were killed in 44 BCE, and the

Idumean
Herod the Great
, Antipater’s son, was
designated “King
of the Jews” by the
Roman Senate
in 40 BCE.^[5]
He didn’t gain military control until 37 BCE. During his reign the last
representatives of the
Maccabees
were eliminated, and the great port
of
Caesarea Maritima
was built. He died in 4 BCE,
and his kingdom was divided among his sons, who became
tetrarchs
(“rulers of a quarter part”). One of
these quarters was Judea corresponding to the region of the ancient
Kingdom of Judah. Herod’s son
Herod Archelaus
, ruled Judea so badly that he
was dismissed in 6 CE by the
Roman emperor

Augustus
, after an appeal from his own
population. Another,
Herod Antipas
, ruled as
tetrarch
of Galilee and Perea from 4 BCE to 39
CE, being then dismissed by
Caligula
.

Judea as Roman
province

The Roman empire in the time of
Hadrian

(ruled 117–138 CE), showing, in western
Asia, the Roman province of Iudaea. 1
legion

deployed in 125.

In 6 CE Judea became part of a larger Roman province, called Iudaea,
which was formed by combining
Judea proper
(biblical
Judah
) with
Samaria
and Idumea (biblical

Edom).^[6]
Even though Iudaea is simply derived from the Latin for Judea,
many historians use it to distinguish the Roman province from the previous
territory and history. Iudaea province did not include
Galilee
,
Gaulanitis
(the Golan), nor
Peraea
or the
Decapolis
. Its revenue was of little importance
to the Roman treasury, but it controlled the land and coastal sea routes to the
bread basket
Egypt
and was a border province against the
Parthian Empire
because of the Jewish
connections to
Babylonia
(since the
Babylonian exile
). The capital was at
Caesarea
, not
Jerusalem
, which had been the capital for
King David
,
King Hezekiah
,
King Josiah
, the
Maccabees
and
Herod the Great
.
Quirinius
became
Legate
(Governor) of
Syria
and conducted the first
Roman tax census of Syria and Iudaea
, which was
opposed by the
Zealots
. Iudaea was not a
Senatorial province
, nor exactly an
Imperial province
, but instead was a “satellite
of Syria”
governed
by a
prefect
who was a
knight of the equestrian order
(as was
Roman Egypt
), not a former
consul
or
praetor
of
senatorial rank
.
Pontius Pilate
was one of these prefects, from
26 to 36 CE. Caiaphas
was one of the appointed
High Priests
of
Herod’s Temple
, being appointed by the Prefect
Valerius Gratus
in 18. Both were deposed by the
Syrian Legate
Lucius Vitellius
in 36 CE.

The ‘Crisis under
Caligula
‘ (37–41) has been proposed as the
first open break between Rome and the Jews.

Between 41 and 44 CE, Iudaea regained its nominal
autonomy
, when
Herod Agrippa
was made King of the Jews by the
emperor Claudius
, thus in a sense restoring the
Herodian Dynasty, though there is no indication Iudaea ceased to be a Roman
province simply because it no longer had a prefect. Claudius had decided to
allow, across the empire,
procurators
, who had been personal agents to
the Emperor often serving as provincial
tax
and finance ministers, to be elevated to governing magistrates with full state
authority to keep the peace. He elevated Iudaeas’s procurator whom he trusted to
imperial governing status because the imperial legate of Syria was not
sympathetic to the Judeans. Following Agrippa’s death in 44 CE, the province
returned to direct Roman control for a short period. Agrippa’s son
Marcus Julius Agrippa
was designated King of
the Jews in 48. He was the seventh and last of the
Herodians
. From 70 CE until 135 CE, Iudaea’s
rebelliousness required a governing Roman
legate
capable of commanding legions. Because
Agrippa II maintained loyalty to the Empire, the Kingdom was retained until he
died, either in 93/94 or 100, when the area returned to complete, undivided
Roman Empire
control.

Judaea was the stage of three major
rebellions against Roman rule
:

• 66–70 CE – first rebellion, followed by the destruction of
  Herod’s Temple
  and the siege of
  Jerusalem
  (see
  Great Jewish Revolt
  ,
  Josephus
  )
• 115–117 CE – second rebellion, called
  Kitos War
• 132–135 CE – third rebellion,
  Bar Kokhba’s revolt

Following the suppression of Bar Kokhba’s revolt, the emperor
Hadrian
changed the name of the province to
Syria Palaestina
and Jerusalem became
Aelia Capitolina
which
Hayim Hillel Ben-Sasson
states was done to
erase the historical ties of the Jewish people to the region.

Under Diocletian
(284-305) the region was divided
into Palaestina Prima (Judea, Samaria, Idumea, Peraea and the coastal
plain with Caesarea as capital), Palaestina Secunda (Galilee, Decapolis,
Golan with Beth-shean as capital) and Palaestina Tertia (the Negev with
Petra as capital). 

Publius Aelius Hadrianus

(as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus,

and Divus Hadrianus after his

apotheosis
,

known as Hadrian in

English

; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was

emperor

of

Rome

from AD 117 to 138, as well as a

Stoic
and

Epicurean

philosopher. A member of the

gens

Aelia
,

Hadrian was the third of the so-called

Five Good Emperors

.

Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus in

Italica

or, less probably, in Rome

,

from a well-established family which had originated in

Picenum
in

Italy
and had

subsequently settled in

Italica
,

Hispania Baetica

(the republican

Hispania

Ulterior), near the present day location of Seville, Spain. His predecessor

Trajan
was a

maternal cousin of Hadrian’s father.

Trajan never officially designated a successor, but, according to his wife,

Pompeia Plotina

, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death.

Trajan’s wife was well-disposed toward Hadrian: Hadrian may well have owed his

succession to her.

Hadrian’s presumed indebtedness to Plotina was widely regarded as the reason

for Hadrian’s succession. However, there is evidence that he accomplished his

succession on his own governing and leadership merits while Trajan was still

alive. For example, between the years AD 100–108 Trajan gave several public

examples of his personal favour towards Hadrian, such as betrothing him to his

grandniece,

Vibia

Sabina
, designating him quaestor Imperatoris, comes Augusti,

giving him Nerva’s diamond “as hope of succession”, proposing him for consul

suffectus, and other gifts and distinctions. The young Hadrian was Trajan’s

only direct male family/marriage/bloodline. The support of Plotina and of

L. Licinius Sura

(died in AD 108) were nonetheless extremely important for

Hadrian, already in this early epoch.

 Early

life

Although it was an accepted part of Hadrian’s personal history that Hadrian

was born in Italica

located in the province called

Hispania Baetica

(the southernmost Roman province in the

Iberian Peninsula

, comprising modern

Spain
and

Portugal
),

his biography in

Augustan History

states that he was born in Rome on 24 January 76 of a

family originally Italian,

but Hispanian for many generations. However, this may be a ruse to make Hadrian

look like a person from Rome instead of a person hailing from the provinces.

His father was the Hispano-Roman

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer

, who as a

senator

of praetorian

rank would spend much of his time in Rome.

Hadrian’s forefathers came from Hadria, modern

Atri
,

an ancient town of Picenum in Italy, but the family had settled in

Italica
in

Hispania Baetica soon after its founding by

Scipio Africanus

. Afer was a paternal cousin of the future Emperor

Trajan
. His

mother was Domitia

Paulina
who

came from Gades (Cádiz).

Paulina was a daughter of a distinguished Hispano-Roman Senatorial family.

Hadrian’s elder sister and only sibling was Aelia Domitia

Paulina
,

married with the triple consul

Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus

, his niece was Julia Serviana

Paulina
and

his great-nephew was Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, from

Barcino
. His

parents died in 86 when Hadrian was ten, and the boy then became a ward of both

Trajan and

Publius Acilius Attianus

(who was later Trajan’s Praetorian Prefect).

Hadrian was schooled in various subjects particular to young

aristocrats

of the day, and was so fond of learning

Greek

literature that he was nicknamed Graeculus (“Greekling”).

Hadrian visited

Italica
when

(or never left it until) he was 14, when he was recalled by Trajan who

thereafter looked after his development. He never returned to Italica although

it was later made a

colonia

in his honour.

His first military service was as a

tribune
of

the

Adiutrix Legio II

. Later, he was to be transferred to the

Minervia Legio I

in

Germany
. When

Nerva
died in 98,

Hadrian rushed to inform Trajan personally. He later became

legate
of a

legion

in Upper Pannonia

and eventually governor of said province. He was also

archon
in

Athens
for a

brief time, and was elected an Athenian citizen.

His career before becoming emperor follows: decemvir stlitibus iudicandis

– sevir turmae equitum Romanorum – praefectus Urbi feriarum Latinarum

– tribunus militum legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis (95, in Pannonia

Inferior) – tribunus militum legionis V Macedonicae (96, in Moesia

Inferior) – tribunus militum legionis XXII Primigeniae Piae Fidelis (97,

in Germania Superior) – quaestor (101) – ab actis senatus –

tribunus plebis (105) – praetor (106) – legatus legionis I

Minerviae Piae Fidelis (106, in Germania Inferior) – legatus Augusti pro

praetore Pannoniae Inferioris (107) – consul suffectus (108) –

septemvir epulonum (before 112) – sodalis Augustalis (before 112) –

archon Athenis (112/13) – legatus Syriae (117).

Hadrian was active in the wars against the

Dacians
(as

legate of the

Macedonica V

) and reputedly won awards from Trajan for his successes.

Due to an absence of military action in his reign, Hadrian’s military skill is

not well attested; however, his keen interest and knowledge of the army and his

demonstrated skill of administration show possible strategic talent.

Hadrian joined Trajan’s expedition against Parthia as a legate on Trajan’s

staff.

Neither during the initial victorious phase, nor during the second phase of the

war when rebellion swept Mesopotamia did Hadrian do anything of note. However

when the governor of

Syria

had to be sent to sort out renewed troubles in Dacia, Hadrian was

appointed as a replacement, giving him an independent command.

Trajan, seriously ill by that time, decided to return to Rome while Hadrian

remained in

Syria

to guard the Roman rear. Trajan only got as far as

Selinus

before he became too ill to go further. While Hadrian may have been

the obvious choice as successor, he had never been adopted as Trajan’s heir. As

Trajan lay dying, nursed by his wife, Plotina (a supporter of Hadrian), he at

last adopted Hadrian as heir. Since the document was signed by Plotina, it has

been suggested that Trajan may have already been dead.

 Emperor

 Securing

power

Hadrian quickly secured the support of the legions — one potential opponent,

Lusius Quietus

, was instantly dismissed.

The Senate’s endorsement followed when possibly falsified papers of adoption

from Trajan were presented (although he had been the ward of

Trajan
). The

rumor of a falsified document of adoption carried little weight — Hadrian’s

legitimacy arose from the endorsement of the Senate and the Syrian armies.

Hadrian did not at first go to Rome — he was busy sorting out the East and

suppressing the Jewish revolt that had broken out under Trajan, then moving on

to sort out the Danube

frontier. Instead, Attianus, Hadrian’s former guardian, was put in

charge in Rome. There he “discovered” a plot involving four leading Senators

including Lusius Quietus and demanded of the Senate their deaths. There was no

question of a trial — they were hunted down and killed out of hand. Because

Hadrian was not in Rome at the time, he was able to claim that Attianus had

acted on his own initiative. According to Elizabeth Speller the real reason for

their deaths was that they were Trajan’s men.

 Hadrian

and the military

Despite his own great stature as a military administrator, Hadrian’s reign

was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts, apart from the Second

Roman-Jewish War. He surrendered Trajan’s conquests in

Mesopotamia

, considering them to be indefensible. There was almost a war

with Parthia

around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a

peace.

The peace policy was strengthened by the erection of permanent fortifications

along the empire’s borders (limites,

sl.

limes). The most famous of these is the massive

Hadrian’s Wall

in

Great

Britain
, and the

Danube
and

Rhine
borders

were strengthened with a series of mostly wooden

fortifications

, forts,

outposts
and

watchtowers

, the latter specifically improving communications and local area

security. To maintain morale and keep the troops from getting restive, Hadrian

established intensive drill routines, and personally inspected the armies.

Although his coins showed military images almost as often as peaceful ones,

Hadrian’s policy was peace through strength, even threat.

 Cultural

pursuits and patronage

Hadrian has been described, by Ronald Syme among others, as the most

versatile of all the Roman Emperors. He also liked to display a knowledge of all

intellectual and artistic fields. Above all, Hadrian patronized the arts:

Hadrian’s Villa

at Tibur (Tivoli)

was the greatest Roman example of an

Alexandrian

garden, recreating a sacred landscape, lost in large part to the despoliation of

the ruins by the

Cardinal d’Este

who had much of the marble removed to build

Villa

d’Este
. In Rome
,

the Pantheon

, originally built by

Agrippa

but destroyed by fire in 80, was rebuilt under Hadrian in the domed

form it retains to this day. It is among the best preserved of Rome’s ancient

buildings and was highly influential to many of the great architects of the

Italian Renaissance

and

Baroque

periods.

From well before his reign, Hadrian displayed a keen interest in

architecture, but it seems that his eagerness was not always well received. For

example,

Apollodorus of Damascus

, famed architect of the

Forum of Trajan

, dismissed his designs. When

Trajan
,

predecessor to Hadrian, consulted Apollodorus about an architectural problem,

Hadrian interrupted to give advice, to which Apollodorus replied, “Go away and

draw your pumpkins. You know nothing about these problems.” “Pumpkins” refers to

Hadrian’s drawings of domes like the Serapeum in his Villa. It is rumored that

once Hadrian succeeded Trajan to become emperor, he had Apollodorus exiled and

later put to death. It is very possible that this later story was a later

attempt to defame his character, as Hadrian, though popular among a great many

across the empire, was not universally admired, either in his lifetime or

afterward.

Hadrian wrote poetry in both Latin and Greek; one of the few surviving

examples is a Latin poem he reportedly composed on his deathbed (see

below
). He

also wrote an autobiography – not, apparently, a work of great length or

revelation, but designed to scotch various rumours or explain his various

actions. The work is lost but was apparently used by the writer — whether

Marius Maximus

or someone else – on whom the Historia Augusta

principally relied for its vita of Hadrian: at least, a number of

statements in the vita have been identified (by

Ronald

Syme
and others) as probably ultimately stemming from the autobiography.

Hadrian was a passionate hunter, already from the time of his youth according

to one source.

In northwest Asia, he founded and dedicated a city to commemorate a she-bear he

killed.

It is documented that in Egypt he and his beloved

Antinous

killed a lion.

In Rome, eight reliefs featuring Hadrian in different stages of hunting on a

building that began as a monument celebrating a kill.

Another of Hadrian’s contributions to “popular” culture was the beard, which

symbolised his philhellenism. Except for

Nero (also a great

lover of Greek culture), all Roman emperors before Hadrian were clean shaven.

Most of the emperors after Hadrian would be portrayed with beards. Their beards,

however, were not worn out of an appreciation for Greek culture but because the

beard had, thanks to Hadrian, become fashionable. Hadrian had a face covered in

warts and scars, and this may have partially motivated Hadrian’s beard growth.

Hadrian was a

humanist

and deeply

Hellenophile

in all his tastes. He favoured the doctrines of the

philosophers Epictetus

, Heliodorus and

Favorinus
,

but was generally considered an

Epicurean

, as were some of his friends such as

Caius Bruttius Praesens

. At home he attended to social needs. Hadrian

mitigated but did not abolish slavery, had the legal code humanized and forbade

torture. He built libraries,

aqueducts

, baths and theaters. Hadrian is considered by many historians to

have been wise and just: Schiller called him “the Empire’s first servant”, and

British historian

Edward Gibbon

admired his “vast and active genius”, as well as his “equity

and moderation”. In 1776, he stated that Hadrian’s epoch was part of the

“happiest era of human history”.

While visiting Greece in 126, Hadrian attempted to create a kind of

provincial parliament

to bind all the semi-autonomous former city states across all

Greece and Ionia

(in

Asia Minor

). This parliament, known as the

Panhellenion

, failed despite spirited efforts to instill cooperation among

the Hellenes.

Hadrian had a close relationship, widely reported to have been romantic, with

a Greek youth, Antinous

, whom he met in

Bithynia
in

124 when the boy was thirteen or fourteen. While touring

Egypt

in 130, Antinous mysteriously drowned in the

Nile. Deeply

saddened, Hadrian founded the Egyptian city of

Antinopolis

, and had Antinous deified – an unprecedented honour for one not

of the ruling family.

Hadrian died at his villa in

Baiae
. He was

buried in a mausoleum

on the western bank of the

Tiber
, in

Rome, a building

later transformed into a papal fortress,

Castel Sant’Angelo

. The dimensions of his mausoleum, in its original form,

were deliberately designed to be slightly larger than the earlier

Mausoleum of Augustus

.

According to Cassius Dio a gigantic equestrian statue was erected to Hadrian

after his death. “It was so large that the bulkiest man could walk through the

eye of each horse, yet because of the extreme height of the foundation persons

passing along on the ground below believe that the horses themselves as well as

Hadrian are very small.”

 Hadrian’s

travels

 Purpose

The Stoic-Epicurean Emperor traveled broadly, inspecting and correcting the

legions in the field. Even prior to becoming emperor, he had traveled abroad

with the Roman military, giving him much experience in the matter. More than

half his reign was spent outside of Italy. Other emperors often left Rome to

simply go to war, returning soon after conflicts concluded. A previous emperor,

Nero, once traveled

through Greece and was condemned for his self indulgence. Hadrian, by contrast,

traveled as a fundamental part of his governing, and made this clear to the

Roman senate and the people. He was able to do this because at Rome he possessed

a loyal supporter within the upper echelons of Roman society, a military veteran

by the name of

Marcius Turbo

. Also, there are hints within certain sources that he also

employed a

secret police

force, the

frumentarii

, to exert control and influence in case anything should go wrong

while he journeyed abroad.

Hadrian’s visits were marked by handouts which often contained instructions

for the construction of new public buildings. Hadrian was willful of

strengthening the Empire from within through improved infrastructure, as opposed

to conquering or annexing perceived enemies. This was often the purpose of his

journeys; commissioning new structures, projects and settlements. His almost

evangelical belief in Greek culture strengthened his views: like many emperors

before him, Hadrian’s will was almost always obeyed. His traveling court was

large, including administrators and likely

architects

and

builders

. The burden on the areas he passed through were sometimes great.

While his arrival usually brought some benefits it is possible that those who

had to carry the burden were of different class to those who reaped the

benefits. For example, huge amounts of provisions were requisitioned during his

visit to Egypt
,

this suggests that the burden on the mainly

subsistence farmers

must have been intolerable, causing some measure of

starvation

and hardship.

At the same time, as in later times all the way through the European

Renaissance, kings were welcomed into their cities or lands, and the financial

burden was completely on them, and only indirectly on the poorer class.

Hadrian’s first tour came in 121 and was initially aimed at covering his back

to allow himself the freedom to concern himself with his general cultural aims.

He traveled north, towards

Germania

and inspected the Rhine-Danube frontier, allocating funds to improve the

defenses. However it was a voyage to the Empire’s very frontiers that

represented his perhaps most significant visit; upon hearing of a recent revolt,

he journeyed to Britannia.

 Britannia

Prior to Hadrian’s arrival on Great Britain there had been a major rebellion

in

Britannia

, spanning roughly two years (119–121).

It was here where in 122 he initiated the building of

Hadrian’s Wall

(the exact Latin name of which is unknown). The purpose of

the wall is academically debated. In 1893,

Haverfield

stated categorically that the Wall was a means of military

defence. This prevailing, early 20th century view was challenged by

Collingwood

^{[disambiguation}

needed] in 1922. Since then, other points of view have been put

forwards; the wall has been seen as a marker to the limits of Romanitas,

as a monument to Hadrian to gain glory in lieu of military campaigns, as work to

keep the Army busy and prevent mutiny and waste through boredom, or to safeguard

the frontier province of Britannia, by preventing future small scale invasions

and unwanted immigration from the northern country of

Caledonia

(now modern day Scotland

). Caledonia was inhabited by tribes known to the Romans as

Caledonians

. Hadrian realized that the Caledonians would refuse to

cohabitate with the Romans. He also was aware that although Caledonia was

valuable, the harsh terrain and highlands made its conquest costly and

unprofitable for the Empire at large. Thus, he decided instead on building a

wall. Unlike the

Germanic limes

, built of wood palisades, the lack of suitable wood in the

area required a stone construction;

nevertheless, the Western third of the wall, from modern-day Carlisle to the

River Irthing, was built of turf because of the lack of suitable building stone.

This problem also led to the narrowing of the width of the wall, from the

original 12 feet to 7, saving masonry.

Hadrian is perhaps most famous for the construction of this wall whose ruins

still span many miles and to date bear his name. In many ways it represents

Hadrian’s will to improve and develop within the

Empire
,

rather than waging wars and conquering.

Under him, a shrine was erected in

York to Britain as

a Goddess, and coins were struck which introduced a female figure as the

personification of Britain, labeled

.

By the end of 122 he had concluded his visit to Britannia, and from there headed

south by sea to

Mauretania
.

 Parthia

and Anatolia

In 123, he arrived in

Mauretania

where he personally led a campaign against local rebels.

However this visit was to be short, as reports came through that the Eastern

nation of Parthia

was again preparing for war, as a result Hadrian quickly headed eastwards. On

his journey east it is known that at some point he visited

Cyrene

during which he personally made available funds for the training of

the young men of well bred families for the Roman military. This might well have

been a stop off during his journey East. Cyrene had already benefited from his

generosity when he in 119 had provided funds for the rebuilding of public

buildings destroyed in the recent Jewish revolt.

When Hadrian arrived on the

Euphrates
,

he characteristically solved the problem through a negotiated settlement with

the Parthian king

Osroes I

. He then proceeded to check the Roman defenses before setting off

West along the coast of the

Black Sea
.

He probably spent the winter in

Nicomedia
,

the main city of

Bithynia
.

As Nicomedia had been hit by an earthquake only shortly prior to his stay,

Hadrian was generous in providing funds for rebuilding. Thanks to his generosity

he was acclaimed as the chief restorer of the province as a whole. It is more

than possible that Hadrian visited

Claudiopolis

and there espied the beautiful

Antinous
, a

young boy who was destined to become the emperor’s

beloved

. Sources say nothing about when Hadrian met Antinous, however, there

are depictions of Antinous that shows him as a young man of 20 or so. As this

was shortly before Antinous’s drowning in 130 Antinous would more likely have

been a youth of 13 or 14.

It is possible that Antinous may have been sent to Rome to be trained as

page

to serve the emperor and only gradually did he rise to the status of

imperial favorite.

After meeting Antinous, Hadrian traveled through

Anatolia
.

The route he took is uncertain. Various incidents are described such as his

founding of a city within Mysia, Hadrianutherae, after a successful boar hunt.

(The building of the city was probably more than a mere whim — lowly populated

wooded areas such as the location of the new city were already ripe for

development). Some historians dispute whether Hadrian did in fact commission the

city’s construction at all. At about this time, plans to build a temple in Asia

minor were written up. The new temple would be dedicated to Trajan and Hadrian

and built with dazzling white marble.

 Greece

The climax of this tour was the destination that the hellenophile Hadrian

must all along have had in mind, Greece. He arrived in the autumn of 124 in time

to participate in the

Eleusinian Mysteries

. By tradition at one stage in the ceremony the

initiates were supposed to carry arms but this was waived to avoid any risk to

the emperor among them. At the Athenians’ request he conducted a revision of

their constitution — among other things a new

phyle
(tribe) was

added bearing his name.

During the winter he toured the

Peloponnese

. His exact route is uncertain, however

Pausanias

reports of tell-tale signs, such as temples built by Hadrian and

the statue of the emperor built by the grateful citizens of

Epidaurus

in thanks to their “restorer”. He was especially generous to

Mantinea

which supports the theory that Antinous was in fact already

Hadrian’s lover because of the strong link between Mantinea and Antinous’s home

in Bithynia
.

By March 125, Hadrian had reached

Athens

presiding over the festival of

Dionysia
.

The building program that Hadrian initiated was substantial. Various rulers had

done work on building the

Temple of Olympian Zeus

— it was Hadrian who ensured that the job would be

finished. He also initiated the construction of several public buildings on his

own whim and even organized the building of an aqueduct.

 Return

to Italy

On his return to Italy, Hadrian made a detour to

Sicily
. Coins

celebrate him as the restorer of the island though there is no record of what he

did to earn this accolade.

Back in Rome he was able to see for himself the completed work of rebuilding

the Pantheon

. Also completed by then was Hadrian’s villa nearby at

Tibur

a pleasant retreat by the

Sabine Hills

for whenever Rome became too much for him. At the beginning of

March 127 Hadrian set off for a tour of Italy. Once again, historians are able

to reconstruct his route by evidence of his hand-outs rather than the historical

records. For instance, in that year he restored the Picentine earth goddess

Cupra
in the town

of

Cupra Maritima

. At some unspecified time he improved the drainage of the

Fucine lake

. Less welcome than such largesse was his decision to divide

Italy into 4 regions under imperial legates with consular rank. Being

effectively reduced to the status of mere provinces did not go down well and

this innovation did not long outlive Hadrian.

Hadrian fell ill around this time, though the nature of his sickness is not

known. Whatever the illness was, it did not stop him from setting off in the

spring of 128 to visit

Africa
. His

arrival began with the good omen of rain ending a

drought
.

Along with his usual role as benefactor and restorer he found time to inspect

the troops and his speech to the troops survives to this day.

Hadrian returned to Italy in the summer of 128 but his stay was brief before

setting off on another tour that would last three years.

 Greece,

Asia and Egypt

In September 128 Hadrian again attended the Eleusinian mysteries. This time

his visit to Greece seems to have concentrated on Athens and Sparta — the two

ancient rivals for dominance of Greece. Hadrian had played with the idea of

focusing his Greek revival round

Amphictyonic League

based in Delphi but he by now had decided on something

far grander. His new Panhellenion was going to be a council that would bring

together Greek cities wherever they might be found. The meeting place was to be

the new temple to Zeus in Athens. Having set in motion the preparations —

deciding whose claim to be a Greek city was genuine would in itself take time —

Hadrian set off for

Ephesus
.

In October 130, while Hadrian and his entourage were sailing on the

Nile,

Antinous

drowned, for unknown reasons, though accident, suicide, murder or religious

sacrifice have all been postulated. The emperor was grief stricken. He ordered

Antinous

deified, and cities were named after the boy, medals struck with his effigy, and

statues erected to him in all parts of the empire. Temples were built for his

worship in Bithynia, Mantineia in Arcadia, and Athens, festivals celebrated in

his honour and oracles delivered in his name. The city of

Antinopolis

or Antinoe was founded on the ruins of

Besa

where he died (Cassius Dio, LIX.11; Historia Augusta, Hadrian

Antinous (also Antinoüs or Antinoös;
Ancient Greek
:
Ἀντίνοος; 27 November, c. 111 – before 30 October 130) was a
Bithynian
Greek youth and a
favourite
of the Roman emperor
Hadrian
. He was
deified
after his death, although his exact
status in the Roman pantheon was uncertain.

Biography

Thorsten Opper in Hadrian: Empire and Conflict notes: “Hardly anything
is known of Antinous’ life, and the fact that our sources get more detailed the
later they are does not inspire confidence.” At an irreducible minimum he was
born to a Greek family in
Bithynion
–Claudiopolis,
in the
Roman province
of
Bithynia
in what is now north-west
Turkey
, and joined the entourage of the emperor
Hadrian at a young age, although nothing certain is known of how, when, or where
he and Hadrian met. He is frequently described and depicted as a beautiful boy
and youth. The relationship is believed to have been
sexual
.

Antinous drowned in the

Nile in October 130. The death was presented as an accident, “but it
was believed at the time that Antinous had been sacrificed or had sacrificed
himself,” and Hadrian “wept for him like a woman.” Hadrian went through the
process of
deifying
him soon afterwards, a process
previously exclusively reserved for imperial family members rather than friends
or lovers of non-Roman origin.

Commemoration: the cult of Antinous

 

Antinous (Museo
Pio-Clementino)

The grief of the emperor knew no bounds, causing the most extravagant
veneration to be paid to Antinous’ memory. Cities were founded in his name,
medals struck with his likeness, and cities throughout the east commissioned
godlike images of the dead youth for their shrines and sanctuaries. Following
the example of
Alexander
(who sought divine honours for his
beloved general,
Hephaestion
, when he died) Hadrian had Antinous
proclaimed a god. Temples were built for his worship in Bithynia,
Mantineia
in
Arcadia
, and
Athens
, festivals celebrated in his honour and
oracles
delivered in his name. The city of
Antinopolis
or Antinoe was founded on the site
of Hir-wer where he died (Dio
Cassius lix.11; Spartianus, “Hadrian”). One of Hadrian’s
attempts at extravagant remembrance failed, when the proposal to create a
constellation of Antinous
being lifted to
heaven by an eagle (the constellation
Aquila
) failed of adoption.

After deification
, Antinous was associated with and
depicted as the
Ancient Egyptian
god
Osiris
, associated with the rebirth of the
Nile. Antinous was also depicted as the Roman
Bacchus
, a god related to fertility, cutting
vine leaves. Antinous’s was the only non-imperial head ever to appear on the
coinage.

 

The
“Lansdowne
Antinous” was found at
Hadrian’s Villa
in 1769 (Fitzwilliam
Museum, Cambridge)

Worship, or at least acknowledgment, of the idealized Antinous was
widespread, although mainly outside the city of Rome. As a result, Antinous is
one of the best-preserved faces from the ancient world. Many busts, gems and
coins represent Antinous as the ideal type of youthful beauty, often with the
attributes of some special god. They include a colossal bust in the
Vatican
, a bust in the
Louvre
(the
Antinous Mondragone
), a
bas-relief
from the
Villa Albani
, a statue in the
Capitoline museum
(the so-called
Capitoline Antinous
, now accepted to be a
portrayal of Hermes
), another in
Berlin
, another in the
Lateran
and one in the
Fitzwilliam Museum
; and many more may be seen
in museums across Europe.

There are also statues in many archaeological museums in Greece including the
National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the archaeological museums of Patras,
Chalkis
and
Delphi
. Although these may well be idealised
images, they demonstrate what all contemporary writers described as Antinous’s
extraordinary beauty. Although many of the sculptures are instantly
recognizable, some offer significant variation in terms of the suppleness and
sensuality of the pose and features versus the rigidity and typical masculinity.
In 1998 the remains of the monumental tomb of Antinous, or a temple to him, were
discovered at
Hadrian’s Villa
.

Obelisk of Antinous on the Pincio Hill in Rome

(Obelisco Pinciano, Piazzale del Pincio, Roma) Made of Aswan pink granite
9.24 m. high, mounted on a modern plinth and surmounted by an ornamental star:
overall height 17.26 m. Commissioned by Hadrian and probably erected at the
Antinoeion of his villa in Tivoli. Moved to Rome by
Elagabalus
(218-222) to decorate the spina
of the Circus Varianus. Broken into three pieces, probably in the 6th century,
it was found in the 16th century near the Porta Maggiore. Moved to the
Palazzo Barberini
, then moved to the Vatican by
Pope Clement XIV
; finally erected on the
Pincian by
Pope Pius VII
in 1822. The four sides of the
obelisk are covered with reliefs and with hieroglyphs which, it cannot be
doubted, Hadrian composed. The reference to Hadrian’s wife Sabina being alive
shows that it dates from between Antinous’ death in 130 and Sabina’s in 136/7.

 Greece,

Judaea, Illyricum

Hadrian’s movements subsequent to the founding of

Antinopolis

on October 30, 130 are obscure. Whether or not he returned to

Rome, he spent the winter of 131–32 in Athens and probably remained in Greece or

further East because of the Jewish rebellion which broke out in Judaea in 132

(see below). Inscriptions make it clear that he took the field in person against

the rebels with his army in 133; he then returned to Rome, probably in that year

and almost certainly (judging again from inscriptions) via

Illyricum
.

 Second

Roman-Jewish War

In 130, Hadrian visited the ruins of

Jerusalem
,

in Judaea
, left

after the

First Roman-Jewish War

of 66–73. He rebuilt the city, renaming it

Aelia Capitolina

after himself and

Jupiter Capitolinus

, the chief Roman deity. A new temple dedicated to the

worship of

Jupiter

was built on the ruins of the old Jewish

Second Temple

, which had been destroyed in 70.

In addition, Hadrian abolished

circumcision

, which was considered by Romans and Greeks as a form of bodily

mutilation

and hence “barbaric”.

These anti-Jewish policies of Hadrian triggered in Judaea a massive Jewish

uprising, led by

Simon bar Kokhba

and

Akiba ben Joseph

. Following the outbreak of the revolt, Hadrian called his

general

Sextus Julius Severus

from

Britain

, and troops were brought from as far as the

Danube
. Roman

losses were very heavy, and it is believed that an entire legion, the

XXII Deiotariana

was destroyed.^[45]

Indeed, Roman losses were so heavy that Hadrian’s report to the

Roman

Senate
omitted the customary salutation “I and the legions are well”.

However, Hadrian’s army eventually put down the rebellion in 135, after three

years of fighting. According to

Cassius

Dio
, during the war 580,000 Jews were killed, 50 fortified towns and 985

villages razed. The final battle took place in

Beitar

, a fortified city 10 km. southwest of Jerusalem. The city only fell

after a lengthy siege, and Hadrian only allowed the Jews to bury their dead

after a period of six days. According to the Babylonian

Talmud
,

after the war Hadrian continued the persecution of Jews. He attempted to root

out Judaism
,

which he saw as the cause of continuous rebellions, prohibited the

Torah
law, the

Hebrew calendar

and executed Judaic scholars (see

Ten

Martyrs
). The sacred scroll was ceremonially burned on the

Temple

Mount
. In an attempt to erase the memory of Judaea, he renamed the province

Syria Palaestina

(after the

Philistines

), and Jews were forbidden from entering its rededicated capital.

When Jewish sources mention Hadrian it is always with the epitaph “may his bones

be crushed” (שחיק עצמות or שחיק טמיא, the Aramaic equivalent),

an expression never used even with respect to

Vespasian

or Titus
who

destroyed the

Second Temple

.

 Final

years

 Succession

Hadrian spent the final years of his life at Rome. In 134, he took an

Imperial salutation

or the end of the Second Jewish War (which was not actually

concluded until the following year). In 136, he dedicated a new

Temple of Venus and Roma

on the former site of

Nero‘s

Golden House

.

About this time, suffering from poor health, he turned to the problem of the

succession. In 136 he adopted one of the ordinary

consuls

of that year, Lucius Ceionius Commodus, who took the name

Lucius Aelius Caesar

. He was both the stepson and son-in-law of Gaius

Avidius Nigrinus, one of the “four consulars” executed in 118, but was himself

in delicate health. Granted tribunician power and the governorship of

Pannonia
,

Aelius Caesar held a further consulship in 137, but died on January 1, 138.

Following the death of Aelius Caesar, Hadrian next adopted Titus Aurelius

Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus (the future emperor

Antoninus Pius

), who had served as one of the four imperial legates of Italy

(a post created by Hadrian) and as

proconsul

of

Asia

. On 25 February 138 Antoninus received tribunician power and

imperium
.

Moreover, to ensure the future of the dynasty, Hadrian required Antoninus to

adopt both Lucius Ceionius Commodus (son of the deceased Aelius Caesar) and

Marcus Annius Verus (who was the grandson of an influential senator

of the same name

who had been Hadrian’s close friend; Annius was already

betrothed to Aelius Caesar’s daughter Ceionia Fabia). Hadrian’s precise

intentions in this arrangement are debatable. Though the consensus is that he

wanted Annius Verus (who would later become the Emperor

Marcus Aurelius

) to succeed Antoninus, it has also been argued that he

actually intended Ceionius Commodus, the son of his own adopted son, to succeed,

but was constrained to show favour simultaneously to Annius Verus because of his

strong connections to the Hispano-Narbonensian nexus of senatorial families of

which Hadrian himself was a part. It may well not have been Hadrian, but rather

Antoninus Pius — who was Annius Verus’s uncle – who advanced the latter to the

principal position. The fact that Annius would divorce Ceionia Fabia and

re-marry to Antoninus’ daughter Annia Faustina points in the same direction.

When he eventually became Emperor, Marcus Aurelius would co-opt Ceionius

Commodus as his co-Emperor (under the name of

Lucius

Verus
) on his own initiative.

The ancient sources present Hadrian’s last few years as marked by conflict

and unhappiness. The adoption of Aelius Caesar proved unpopular, not least with

Hadrian’s brother-in-law

Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus

and Servianus’ grandson Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus

Salinator. Servianus, though now far too old, had stood in line of succession at

the beginning of the reign; Fuscus is said to have had designs on the imperial

power for himself, and in 137 he may have attempted a

coup

in which his grandfather was implicated. Whatever the truth, Hadrian ordered

that both be put to death.

Servianus is reported to have prayed before his execution that Hadrian would

“long for death but be unable to die”.

The prayer was fulfilled; as Hadrian suffered from his final, protracted

illness, he had to be prevented from

suicide
on

several occasions.

 Death

Hadrian died in 138 on the tenth day of July, in his

villa

at Baiae
at age

62. The cause of death is believed to have been heart failure.

Dio Cassius

and the

Historia Augusta

record details of his failing health, and a study published

in 1980 drew attention to classical sculptures of Hadrian that show he had

diagonal earlobe creases – a characteristic associated with

coronary heart disease

.

Hadrian was buried first at

Puteoli

, near Baiae, on an estate which had once belonged to

Cicero
. Soon

after, his remains were transferred to Rome and buried in the Gardens of Domitia,

close by the almost-complete mausoleum. Upon the completion of the

Tomb of Hadrian

in Rome

in 139 by his successor

Antoninus Pius

, his body was cremated, and his ashes were placed there

together with those of his wife

Vibia

Sabina
and his first adopted son,

Lucius Aelius

, who also died in 138. Antoninus also had him deified in 139

and given a

temple

on the

Campus Martius

.

 Poem

by Hadriann

According to the

Historia Augusta

Hadrian composed shortly before his death the following

poem:

Animula, vagula, blandula

Hospes comesque corporis

Quae nunc abibis in loca

Pallidula, rigida, nudula,

Nec, ut soles, dabis iocos…

P. Aelius Hadrianus Imp.

Little soul, roamer and charmerr

Body’s guest and companion

Into what places will you now depart

Pale, stiff, and nude

An end to all your jokes…