After his inspection tour of the eastern frontier provinces (see here), Hadrian travelled through the Pontic mountains to the Black Sea port of Trapezus (present-day Trabzon), the northernmost end of the Cappadocian limes. Trapezus was one of the furthest points reached by Hadrian, and in the AD 130s, his friend L. Flavius Arrianus, as governor of… Continue reading Autumn AD 123 – Hadrian reaches Trapezus and sails westwards along the Pontic coast (#Hadrian1900)
Having returned to Gaul from Britain (see here), Hadrian made his only known visit to his native land as emperor during the winter of AD 122/3. He took up his residence at Tarraco (Tarragona), Rome's oldest foundation on the Iberian Peninsula and the capital of Hispania Tarraconensis. Anthony Birley has proposed the identification of some… Continue reading Winter AD 122/3 – Hadrian stays in Tarraco and rebuilds the Temple of Augustus (#Hadrian1900)
Towards the end of AD 122, Hadrian left Britain and set sail for Gaul, travelling southward to Nemausus (Nîmes) in Narbonensis before crossing the Pyrenees to Spain. His route would have certainly been along the via Agrippa from Bononia (Boulogne) on the North Sea to Lugdunum (Lyon), down the Rhone valley, and then along the… Continue reading Autumn AD 122 – Hadrian returns to Gaul and commemorates his horse and Plotina (#Hadrian1900)
After a lengthy inspection tour on the Rhine and Danube frontiers, Hadrian arrived in Britannia in the summer of 122 with his friend Aulus Platorius Nepos, the man chosen to be the new governor of the province. Nepos' previous posting had been to Germania Inferior, where Hadrian had just spent the last couple of weeks… Continue reading Summer AD 122 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 5 Britannia (#Hadrian1900)
In 122, perhaps in late spring, Hadrian returned from the Danube to the Rhine. The last stage of his journey along the German frontier before moving to Britannia would have taken him down the Rhine to Colonia Agrippinensis (modern Cologne), the Hadrianic capital of Germania Inferior. One of his most trusted friends, Platorius Nepos, who… Continue reading Spring AD 122 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 4 Germania Inferior (#Hadrian1900)
After Hadrian inspected the military forces and installations in Germania Superior (see here), the Emperor visited the limes and the army troops of the neighbouring province of Raetia, now part of German Bavaria. At the time of Hadrian's visit in AD 122, no legion was stationed in this area. Still, the province relied on its large auxiliaries… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 2 Raetia (#Hadrian1900)
In the year AD 121, Hadrian left Rome and set off on an ambitious tour of the western provinces. His first intended destination was the German frontier (limes) which he probably reached in the autumn or winter of that year. A passage in Dio Cassius describing Hadrian bareheaded in the "German snows" (Dio 69.9.4) plausibly… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 1 Germania Superior (#Hadrian1900)
Shortly after celebrating Rome's birthday (see here), Hadrian departed on his journey to the northern provinces and began his first extensive voyage through the empire. As he intended to be absent for a considerable time with little idea of a return date, it was necessary to leave the control of Rome in trustworthy hands. Annius Verus,… Continue reading Spring AD 121 – Hadrian departs for the northern provinces (#Hadrian1900)
On 17 October 117, Hadrian reached the city of Tyana, situated at the foot of the Taurus mountains near the Cilician Gates. Thanks to epigraphical evidence, a fragment of an itinerary found in Rome, we know that Hadrian left Antioch at the beginning of October AD 117 and travelled northwards towards Ancyra (modern Ankara). The… Continue reading 17 October AD 117 – Hadrian arrives in Tyana (#Hadrian1900)
On 15 October 117, Hadrian crossed the Cilician Gates (Pylae Ciliciae), the most famous mountain pass through the Taurus Mountains. The new Emperor was travelling northward into Cappadocia along the Via Tauri, which runs across the mountain chain. We know from a fragment of an itinerary found in Rome that Hadrian left Antioch at the… Continue reading 15 October AD 117 – Hadrian crosses the Cilician gates and arrives in Cappadocia (#Hadrian1900)
