Hadrian

In the first scholarly biography of Hadrian (76-138 A.D.) since Bernard Henderson's 1923 work, German historian Birley examines the personal life and cultural and state achievements of the emperor who Hellenized and consolidated the Roman Empire. Drawing on the Historia Agusta and other Latin sources, Birley traces the life of Hadrian, a Roman of senatorial rank and Spanish origin whose career rose with that of his uncle Trajan. Trajan spent much of his time with his legions at the frontier, and Hadrian himself headed several legions. After Trajan became emperor, Hadrian assisted his uncle in the conquest of the Dacians, after which the Roman Empire expanded to its greatest breadth, and married Trajan's granddaughter, Vibia Sabina. Significantly for his future role as a promoter of Greek culture, Hadrian served as archon of Athens and was put in command of the army of Syria and adopted as Trajan's heir shortly before the emperor's death. Birley shows that Hadrian himself was both peripatetic and vigorous as ruler in consolidating his position around the empire, developing his eponymous wall in Britain, negotiating a peace with the Parthians, and putting down rebellions in Judaea (occasioned by his own unsuccessful attempt to Hellenize the Jews). Deeply interested in Greek architecture and culture, he became personally involved in massive building projects and wrote poetry, some of which has survived. Birley also traces Hadrian's celebrated homosexual relationship with the youth Antinous: When the boy died after falling into the Nile in 130 A.D., Hadrian became disconsolate. A person of mercurial character, he died after a long illness, hated by many but having left a remarkable stamp on the culture and character of the empire. An excellent, and long overdue, biography of one of the greatest and most accomplished of the Roman emperors. (Kirkus Reviews)