HADRIA'NUS, .iELIUS, eon of tElius Hadrianus Afer, a cousin of Trojan, and a native of Hatria Picena, but of Spanish descent, and of Domitia Pauline of Cadiz, was born at Rome, in January .a.n. 70. Ile was left an orphan at ten years of age, under the guardianship of Trojan and of Tatianus, a Roman knight. lie road° great progress in literature, especially in the study of Greek. In the reign of Domitian lie served as commauder of an auxiliary legion in Mania. Trojan gave him his niece Sabiva in marriage, and lie accompanied the emperor in his Dacian and Eastern campaigns. When Trajan died at Seliuna in Cilicia, in August 117, lladrianus, whom he had left in charge of the army in Syria, was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers at Antioch, and he wrote to the senate, requesting their confirmation. Plautina, Trajan 'a widow, favoured his views by pretending that Trajau on his death-bed had appointed him his successor, and for this service Hadrianus showed his gratitude to Plautina to the end of her life. The fact of Hadrianus being adopted by Trojan a year before his death has been asserted by some writers and denied by others. His election being confirmed by the senate, Hadriaiius, after withdrawing the troops from the countries east of the Euphrates and making peace with the Parthians and the Armenians, set off for Rome, where he assumed the consulship in the following year (118) with T. Fuscus Salinator. Ho refused to appropriate to himself the triumph which had been destined for Trojan, and he caused the image of the deceased emperor to be carried in the triumph : according to Spartianus he himself carried it. He remitted all the arrears due to the public treasury by individuals in Remo and the rest of Italy, and all that was due from the provinces for sixteen years past; and he burnt in the Forum of Trajan the schedules of the debts, which are said to have amounted to several millions sterling. 3ledals were struck on this occasion with the figure of liadriaizus holding is torch and setting fire to the heap, and the legend "He enriches the whole world." lu the following year Hadrianus was consul agaiu with Rusticus; and hearing that the Sarmatians and the lioxolani had made an irruption into Illyricum, he repaired to 3lxsia, defeated the invaders, obliged them to recroes the Danube, and to sue for peace. He appointed
Mercian] Turbo governor of Pannonia and Dacia. From his camp iu the Illyricum he wrote to the senate, accusing of high treason four senators of consular families, who were ordered for immediate exe cution. Other persons were arrested and put to death as accomplices in the alleged conspiracy, and a general alarm spread at Rome, when Hadrianus hurried back and affected to blame the precipitancy of the senate. He compelled Totiauus, his former guardian, whom he bad made prmfect of the Prmtoriau soldiers, and who had abused his power, and had advised the proscriptions, to resign his office. The year after, Titus Aurelius Fulvius, afterwards the emperor Antoninua Pius, was made consul ; and in the same year Iladrianus began his travels through the various parts of the empire, which may be said to have occupied, with few interruptions, the remainder of his reign, a period of about eighteen years. We have memorials of his travels in numerous medals, struck in the various provinces on the occasion of his visit, which form an interesting series : an Italian medallist, Mezzabarba Birago, has put these modals in order and illustrated them. lladrianus began with Campania, where he distributed sums of money to tho poor of the various towns which he visited. Indeed liberality in this respect was bno of the most conspicuous qualities of this emperor. He next went to Gaul, where he visited all the prin cipal towns and fortresses; thence he proceeded to Germany, where the beat legions of the empire were stationed, and he remained a con siderable time among them for the purpose of restoring the discipline, which had become relaxed. lie himself act the example by living as a soldier among the soldiers. Hadrianus was not fond of pomp or show, and he went about with as little state as possible. He drew up a series of military constitutions or laws, which remained long in use after his time, and are quoted by Vegetius. He attached to every cohort a certain number of builders, masons, and other workmen.