What Was Hadrian's Legacy

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Augustus was once the 14th emperor of Ancient Rome, and known to be one of the most just rulers of the empire. Historians study his political and war tactics to great lengths and extents because of just how successful he was during his reign, and the great legacy that he left behind. However, his legacy extends much further beyond his policies and the lands he conquered. Hadrian created some of the most notable and paramount pieces of architecture for not only ancient Rome, but for the rest of the world far beyond the 2nd century. Many would say that Hadrian had a head for emperorship, but he had the heart and passion for architecture. Everyone of Hadrian’s architectural pieces were of immense extravagancy, and as
Only a few days later, death fell upon Trajan and Hadrian became emperor. Hadrian’s start as emperor was a little rocky. Attianus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, ordered for unnecessary executions of senators, making the people of Rome unsure about Hadrian and his intentions. However, after Hadrian confirmed that this was not his doing but the doings of Attianus, things started looking up. Hadrian took a very hands on approach to his emperorship by embarking on a tour of his empire to review his troops and defenses. There were many things that drove Hadrian to leave the capitol for four years, but according to G.W. Bowersock from the Encyclopaedia Britannica it was mainly his “…insatiable curiosity about everything and everybody.” After another 3 years in the capital, he set forth again on a journey across his empire. His travels ended up inspiring many of his architectural creations, and it was on these travels that many of his projects were initiated, such as his wall in Northern Britain, the temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, and more. Throughout his reign, he began and completed more architectural projects of his own, ones that will be explained in more detail throughout this essay, such as his villa at Tivoli, the Pantheon, and the Temple of Rome and Venus. Hadrian passed away in 138 AD, reigning for a
While reading the book Hadrians’s Wall: Archaeology and History at the Limit of Rome’s Empire, written by Nick Hodgson, it became evident that the reason for the wall being built was not made clear by Hadrian and his government. Hodgson commented that “Hadrian’s Wall, it has been argued, was part of a self-conscious policy of provincial economic development, allowing those within and right up to the border… the peace and security to develop into roman provincials.” Hadrian was a smart emperor, who while did extend the empire to great lengths and conquer much land, did not want to overtake more land than it was worth. According to Hodgson, he wanted to keep the empire in “manageable limits.” So because of this, many thought that this wall was done for more personal reasons, to make his empire seem more contained. The construction of the wall was a huge accomplishment in itself just because of the size of it and how long it would stretch. The wall would stretch 73 miles, from the East coast of England all the way to the West. Hadrian designed the wall so that it would contain 45 milecastes with walls as long as 66ft and as thick at 10ft. The milecastle walls “were constructed of coursed rubble… the gates and their arches contained massive blocks, lifted into position by crane,” says Hodgson. While Hadrian was the brain behind this project, the