The Five Good Roman Emperors
By: Gena Vazquez
Tags: Politics, Rome, Ancient History, History, Government

Publius Aelius Hadrianus “Hadrian” Augustus Reigning (A.D. 117–138)

Statue of Roman Emperor Hadrian

At the death of Trajan, his adopted Spanish born son Hadrian was proclaimed Emporer by the praetorian guards. Hadrian protested. He did not regard this as a constitutional act, and he requested to be formally elected by the senate, In some respects, he was similar to Trajan, with the same generous spirit and desire for the good of the people. Like Trajan, he also had the same wish to add to the architectural splendor of Rome. Trajan taught him to be a friend of literature and a patron of the fine arts, although he differed from Trajan in not thinking that the greatness of Rome depended upon military glory. He believed that the army should only be maintained; but that foreign conquest was less important than the prosperity of his subjects. In his political ideas and administrative ability, he was a type of the true statesman. He is said to have been a man of wider acquirements and greater general capacity than any previous ruler since Julius Caesar. He was in the best sense liberal and cosmopolitan. Additionally, he was in fact, tolerant of the Christians and put himself in sympathy with the various races and creeds which made up the empire. Hadrian laid down that accusers of Christians had to bear the burden of proof for their denunciations. Against the Jews only, who rose in revolt during his reign, he showed a spirit of unreasonable severity.

Hadrian did not believe that the mission of Rome was to conquer the world but to civilize its own subjects. He therefore voluntarily gave up the extensive conquests of Trajan in the East, the provinces of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria. He declared that the Eastern policy of Trajan was a grave mistake. He openly professed to hold fast to the policy of Augustus, which was to improve the empire rather than to expand it.

Another piece of evidence of the statesmanship of Hadrian is seen in the fact that he was agreeable, to take advice. While he is said to have shown on some occasions an exceptional irritability of temperament, he is represented as a man distinguished on the whole by “an ability rarely equaled by the Roman princes”. He paid great deference to the senate; and the body of imperial counselors (consilium principis), which had been occasionally consulted by the previous emperors, became from his time a permanent institution. The emperor was not now the victim of unworthy advisers, as in the time of Tiberius, but was surrounded by men noted for their learning and wisdom. These men were often trained lawyers, who were highly skilled in the rules of justice.

Perhaps the most important event in the reign of Hadrian was his compilation of the best part of the Roman law. Since the XII. Tables there had been no collection of legal rules. That ancient code was framed upon the customs of a primitive people. It did not represent the actual law by which justice was now administered. A new and better law had matured in the courts of the praetors and of the provincial governors. It had been expressed in the edicts of these magistrates, but it had now become voluminous and scattered. Hadrian delegated to one of his jurists, Salvius Julianus, the task of collecting this law into a concise formation so that it could be used for the better administration of justice throughout the empire. This collection was called the Perpetual Edict (Edictum Perpetuum).

Hadrian displayed a stronger sympathy with the provinces than any of his predecessors, and under his reign, the provincials attained a high degree of prosperity and happiness. He conducted himself as a true sovereign and friend of his people. To become acquainted with their condition and to remedy their evils, he spent a large part of his time in visiting the provinces. Of his reign of 21 years, he spent more than two thirds outside of Italy. He made his temporary residence in the main cities of the empire, — in York, Athens, Antioch, and Alexandria — where he was continually looking after the interests of his subjects. In the provinces, as at Rome, he constructed many magnificent public works; and won for himself a renown equal, if not superior, to that of Trajan as a great builder. Rome was decorated with the temple of Venus and Roma, and the splendid mausoleum which today bears the name of the Castle of St. Angelo. Hadrian also built strong fortifications to protect the frontiers, one of these connecting the headwaters of the Rhine and the Danube, and another built on the northern boundary of Britain.

Headwaters of the Danube

The general organization of the provinces had few changes. There were still the two classes, the senatorial, governed by the proconsuls and propraetors, and the imperial, governed by the legati, or the emperor’s lieutenants. The improvement which took place under the empire in the condition of the provinces was due to the longer term of office given the governors, the more economic management of the finances, and the abolition of the system of farming the revenues.

The good influence of such emperors as Hadrian is seen in the new spirit which inspired the life of the provincials. The people were no longer the prey of the taxgatherer, as in the times of the later republic. They could, therefore, use their wealth to improve and beautify their own cities. The growing public spirit is seen in the new buildings and works, everywhere erected, not only by the city governments but by the generous contributions of private citizens. The relations between the people of different provinces were also becoming closer as a result of the improvement of the means of communication. The roads were now extended throughout the empire and were used not merely for the transportation of armies, but for travel and correspondence. The people thus became better acquainted with one another. Many of the highways were used as post-roads, over which letters might be sent by means of private enterprise or government couriers.

The different provinces of the empire were also brought into closer communication by means of the increasing commerce, which provided one of the most honored pursuits of the Roman citizen. The provinces encircled the Mediterranean Sea, which was now the greatest highway of the empire. The sea was traversed by merchant ships exchanging the products of various lands. The provinces of the empire were thus joined together in one great commercial community.

At the age of 62 Hadrian’s health was declining and thus died of natural causes in July of 138 A.D. After 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.