HADRIAN, ha'dri-an (Pumas IELIUS HABRIANUS), Roman emperor: b. Rome, 24 Jan. 76; d. Bairn, 10 July 138. For his ardor in the study of Greek he earned,the nickname of Graculus. A nephew of Trajan, he was adopted by that emperor, fought under him against the Dacians with some glory, and having been entrusted with the prefecture of the East and the command of the Roman armies in the East early in 117 when Trajan left the field, Hadrian, upon Trajan's death later in the same year, was made emperor by his soldiers. He quickly realized that he could make no forcible head against the simultaneous attacks of the Parthians and, in Dada and Moesia, of bar barian foes, to say nothing of revolt in Syria and Egypt. With the true insight of a diplomat he foresaw that the extreme East must be either surrendered voluntarily or lost and chose the former alternative as the least costly. Hence he gave up Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria, all comparatively new Roman provinces, to the Parthian power, and withdrew the Roman eagles to the west of the Euphrates. In 119, for the purpose of becoming acquainted. with the state of the provinces, he began his cele brated journey, which he is said to have per formed chiefly on foot, marching bareheaded 20 miles a day and sharing cheerfully the hard fare of the humblest soldier. He visited Gaul, Germany, Britain — where he built the famous wall extending from the Solway to the Tyne — Spain, Mauntania, Egypt, Asia Minor and Greece, whence he returned to Rome after his circuit of the empire in 126 to 127 A.D., and re ceived the title of ePater Patrice? Hadrian spent the years 132 and 133 in Athens, which city he adorned with splendid and costly build ings. After once more visiting Syria and crush
ing a desperate Jewish revolt, he returned to Italy and spent the last years of his life at Rome and his villa. During his reign the army was vigorously disciplined and reorganized. As a civil ruler he merits high praise for the just and comprehensive view he appears to have taken of his duties as a sovereign. Hence to him is attributed, more than to any other, the consolidation of the monarchical system of Rome. Hadrian also divided Italy into four parts under four consuls, to whom was en trusted the administration of justice. Hadrian had a passion for building: his most splendid edifices were a famous villa at Tibur (now Tivoli), and in Rome the Aelian bridge, built in 136 and now styled the Pont Sant' Angelo. This bridge leads to the emperor's splendid mausoleum, the Moles Hadriani. He likewise laid the foundation of several cities, the most important of which was Adrianopolis. He was a lover of the fine arts and set a high value on Greek literature. No fragment of ancient lit erature has been more famous than the verses attributed to the dying Hadrian: David Johnston, in his 'Translations, Literal and Free, of the Dying Hadrian's Address to his Soul' (1877), gives no fewer than 116 trans lations of all degrees of excellence. Among well-known writers, Byron, Prior, Pope and Merivale have attempted renderings. Consult Gregorovius, 'Der Kaiser Hadrian' (1884; Eng. trans., 1898) ; Durr, Reisen des Kaisers Hadrian' (1884); and 'The Life of the Em peror Hadrian,' by Spartianus (1908).