In late AD 122, Hadrian departed from Britain and sailed towards Gaul. He travelled southwards to Nemausus (Nîmes) in Narbonensis before crossing the Pyrenees and arriving in Spain. His journey would have followed the Via Agrippa from Bononia (Boulogne) on the North Sea to Lugdunum (Lyon), then down the Rhone valley, and finally along the… Continue reading Autumn AD 122 – Hadrian returns to Gaul and commemorates his horse and Plotina (#Hadrian1900)
This summer, in the year we celebrate the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian's Wall, I participated in the excavations at Vindolanda, the famous frontier fort and settlement in Northern England at the edge of the Roman Empire. Vindolanda is a fascinating excavation site, one of the most productive in the world. Every year, between April and… Continue reading Digging at Vindolanda (2022)
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)
At some stage during his inspections of the northern military borders and fortifications, Hadrian was in the province of Noricum. The evidence for this visit derives from coins celebrating his official arrival (adventus) and, as in Raetia (see here), the army (exercitus Noricus). He may even have visited the famous iron mines that produced the highly prized… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 3 Noricum (#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 auxiliary… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 2 Raetia (#Hadrian1900)
Happy 1946th birthday, Hadrian! This year, I baked a cake for Hadrian's birthday inspired by Hadrian's Wall and the HW1900 festival. 2022 marks the 1900th anniversary of the beginning of the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. Starting today on Hadrian's birthday, the HW1900 festival will celebrate this epic milestone with hundreds of events taking place along… Continue reading Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane! #HW1900
A few months ago, I was honoured to receive a request from historian and writer Lindsay Powell to write a short blurb to appear on the back cover of his latest book on Bar Kokhba, the leader under whom the Jews united in their war against the Romans between AD 132 and 136. I sent… Continue reading “Bar Kokhba: The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome” by Lindsay Powell
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)
An article by Nick Leonard. When Hadrian assumed control of the Roman Empire in AD 117, the vast, wealthy and powerful state that he inherited remained, in effect, the Principate of Augustus. More than a century after the first emperor’s death, many of the hallmark achievements of his reign and the administrative framework that he… Continue reading Guest post: “The many lives of an eternal monument” – the Mausoleum of Augustus renewed
