We have seen Hadrian's works and will see them many times. He demolished the colossus of Nero and built Venus and Roman temples in the square. He competed with Trajan's royal architect apollodorus for architectural skills; He also built the Pantheon, one of the ancient landmark buildings, in the land of God of War. His own tomb near the Vatican is now the castle of the holy angel. In order to piece together a more complete image, we need to look back on his life.
At present, the detailed information about Hadrian is extremely limited. His only complete biography is found in the Chronicle of the Roman Emperor, which was written late and very unreliable. For a long time, people thought it had four authors, but now researchers tend to think that a series of biographies of "military emperors" and tyrants from Hadrian to the end of the 3rd century were actually written by one person, who may have used four pseudonyms to impress readers more, or later generations may have given him more identities out of thin air. Cassius Dior also described Hadrian's rule. Unfortunately, only the simplified paraphrased version of his works survived from the Byzantine period. It seems that Hadrian did write an autobiography (the author of Chronicle of the Roman Emperor mentioned it many times), but unfortunately, it has been lost in the long river of history.
Hadrian was born in Tarica, a Spanish colonial city founded in Punic War. There are also historical data that Hadrian was born in Rome, which is probably a fabrication. Roman colonists often married local nobles, and Hadrian's ancestors included some Spaniards, or rather, Celts (at that time, they were the main settlers in Iberia). Hadrian received a good education, but throughout his life, his Latin pronunciation was not Roman accent.
At the age of ten, Hadrian's parents died, and he took refuge in a distant relative, the future Emperor Trajan, who also came from Tariq, Iraq, and received education and entered his career under the protection of the latter. After that, Hadrian never returned to his hometown. He quickly climbed the traditional Roman career ladder and took up military and (to some extent) elected civilian posts-an honest election was unthinkable for an emperor's protege. 1 17, Trajan died in Chilia after a long illness, and he didn't specify an heir. This detail and his subsequent handling of major competitors became a controversy during Hadrian's reign. Trajan's widow, Plotina, produced a document signed by Trajan, saying that he adopted Hadrian as his adopted son, which almost automatically meant that Hadrian would inherit his power after Trajan's death. Writers in the classical era insisted that Hadrian's victory stemmed from a court conspiracy: Hadrian was Plotina's lover, and this document was forged after Trajan's death, when a courtier pretended to be his voice and dictated the document (this plot was later quoted by Dante and later by Puccini in the one-act play Ghianni Schicci). Modern historians believe that considering Hadrian's resume, he is a reasonable heir, but his succession is not accidental (succession is a very complicated and headache problem in the history of the whole Roman Empire). Some veteran writers think that Trajan wants to return power to the Senate and the Roman people-this is actually a fantasy suitable for Hollywood.
After dealing with potential competitors, Hadrian turned his attention to foreign policy. In fact, the first thing he did was to refuse to defend the newly conquered eastern provinces of Mesopotamia (later called "Iraq") and Armenia. It is said that he carried out the old Cato's statement, which advocated the freedom of the newly conquered Macedonians because Rome could not protect them.
Hadrian's foreign policy is a combination of diplomatic conquest and the threat of force. He never waged an expansionist war-the territory of the Roman Empire shrank for the first time in centuries. He personally came forward or negotiated with neighboring countries through envoys to reach a peace agreement, and once concluded a peace treaty with the most dangerous opponent, the Rest Empire. During the same period, the legion was always in a state of readiness. Hadrian never wanted to reduce the size of the army-on the contrary, he constantly monitored the number and combat readiness of the legion.
What do soldiers do when they have no war to fight? They go to build. Construction projects include the commander's residence, schools and border defense projects. During Hadrian's time, the work of surveying the Roman border and building fortifications was carried out on a large scale. In many European regions (such as the forests of Germany and Romania, the banks of the Rhine and Danube), the remains of barracks, checkpoints and watchtowers are the only traces left by Roman civilization, but the most famous side wall was built by Hadrian in Britain.
This fortification is now called Hadrian Great Wall, and its original Latin name has never been known.
In 2003, some treasure hunters found a glazed bronze pot in Stamford with an inscription on the bottom, listing the names of four fortresses in the western section of Hadrian's Great Wall. This inscription has been found before, but the name given by the "wasteland pot in Stamford County" may be the name of the whole Great Wall: Vallum Aelium (the camp wall in Eliou), and its origin can only be understood by comparing the full names of the emperors: Publi Uus Eliou Trajan Hadrian Augustus.
The construction of the side wall is completely in line with Hadrian's main military principle for the province: stop conquering and consolidate the border. As a military project, Hadrian's Great Wall is not very effective, but its military utility is not its main goal. It mainly announced to barbarians and Romans where "Great Harmony" would begin and how many resources the Roman Empire would invest to protect it when necessary. Antonius, Hadrian's successor, crossed the Great Wall and built a new wall farther north-the Great Wall of Antonius. However, the territory soon became unsustainable, and Roman troops retreated to Hadrian's border.
Hadrian's Great Wall runs across northern England, east to the North Sea and west to the Irish Sea. It does not coincide with the border between England and Scotland, but it is always in England, and the western section is less than one kilometer away from the border. The side walls have experienced the baptism of bad weather, human activities and time, and there are still many well-preserved stone walls and fortress relics in the middle section, especially in Northumberland. There is a planned trail next to this section of the Great Wall, and many tourists hike along this trail in summer. As early as 1987, Hadrian's Great Wall was included in the World Heritage List, but today it has not been enclosed and protected, so people can have a rare opportunity to walk with part of the Great Wall of ancient Rome.
1973, Windlanda wooden slips were found in Hadrian's Great Wall, which was an exciting discovery and one of the most important discoveries in ancient Roman literature.
During Hadrian's time, almost the only area where war was active was Palestine. At first, Hadrian had a good relationship with Jews; Later, the emperor decided to change the name of Jerusalem to Bitolli, built Jupiter Temple on the site of the destroyed Solomon Temple, and prohibited circumcision, which triggered a riot. Jews didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the last war 60 years ago, so they spent a long time planning riots. The leader of the uprising was Simon bar kokhba, who called himself the Savior. The Romans initially underestimated the scale of the riots. When the situation became very serious, Hadrian recalled one of his best commanders from England and mobilized legions from all over the empire to go to Palestine. The war lasted for several years and both sides suffered heavy losses. When Hadrian reported the progress of the war to the Senate, he didn't even use the old saying, "I am fine with the legion."
In the end, the Baal Kokhba Uprising was stifled in a pool of blood. According to ancient documents, the Romans killed nearly 600,000 Jews and razed 50 cities and 1 1,000 villages. Jews were expelled from Jerusalem and forbidden to go near their holy city. Hadrian also tried to destroy Jewish religion, which he believed was the root of riots and wars. As a result, a long Torah was solemnly burned on the Temple Mount, which is now decorated with statues of Jupiter and Hadrian. He banned the study of the Torah and the Jewish calendar and renamed the Jewish province Syria-Palestine province. Jews began to wander around the world. In Jewish custom, when people mention Hadrian's name, it is always accompanied by a curse: "May he be crushed to ashes."
Hadrian wants people to think they are intellectuals. At that time, the attitude of Roman society towards what was later called science and engineering was very contradictory: on the one hand, it was unthinkable to govern such an empire without engineers and managers; On the other hand, people still firmly believe that only war and agriculture are the noblest occupations, although this situation no longer exists. As for intellectual work (such as medicine and education), it is mainly a matter for residents in the eastern part of the empire. Regardless of their skin color and customs, they are collectively referred to as "Greeks". Therefore, a Roman intellectual must be a Greek lover, and Hadrian is no exception. Some people even insinuated that he was "Graeculus" (Little Greek).
Hadrian eagerly pursues all kinds of knowledge and expects to surpass the recognized masters in all fields. He plays musical instruments, sings, studies mathematics, paints and writes poems. Apollodorus's story shows that Hadrian is not outstanding in all fields, but after all, few people dare to point this out like this famous architect. At a dinner party, the emperor criticized a word from the philosopher Fevorenus, and the other party immediately accepted it. Later, a friend accused Fevorenus of being a slave, and the philosopher replied, "How can a man who commands 30 legions not be the smartest man?"
The thirst for knowledge also drives Hadrian to travel frequently. He hopes to witness with his own eyes what he reads in the book. Of course, at that time, any travel was very troublesome, and more importantly, the time was extremely long. Under normal circumstances, the government messenger who can change horses at each post station will not ride more than 100 km a day, and the emperor and his entourage will naturally walk much slower. This means that in a few months or even years, Rome will be in charge of the emperor's cronies. Hadrian's power was not greatly challenged during his travels, which strongly refuted the negative comments made by biographers on his rule.
Hadrian toured the vast imperial territory, tried the most trivial cases, handled the most humble grievances and visited places of interest. In Sicily, he climbed Mount Etna and watched the sunrise. In Attica, he attended the mysterious Ulysses ceremony and forbidden guards to carry weapons.
During his visit to Bitinia province (now northern Turkey), Hadrian met a Greek boy named Antinous and took him with him. The boy is handsome and Hadrian is full of passion (the author of Chronicle of the Emperor of Rome kindly advises readers: "Please judge for yourself"). Antinous stayed in court for several years, and then drowned in the Nile on a cruise (to Egypt) for unknown reasons. Some historical materials claim that he was sacrificed as a sacrifice in ancient ceremonies, or that he volunteered to help the emperor reverse his bad luck. Anyway, Hadrian was very sad. He founded a city in Egypt and named it Antipolis. Scientists of Napoleon's army found the ruins of temples and streets in this city, but today, there are no ruins in the old site near the village of El Sheikh Ibada. Hadrian also ordered the deification of Antinous, an honor that only members of the royal family could enjoy.
Hadrian was not happy in his later years. His health has deteriorated. In order to avoid the ignorance he experienced when he succeeded to the throne, he appointed an heir before his death. Some old court officials who had hoped to inherit the throne were dissatisfied. As he grew older, Hadrian became more and more suspicious. He executed all disgruntled old ministers for treason. One of the courtiers was an old man named Seville Annous. Before he died, he made a curse and hoped Hadrian would die. His wish came true: the emperor tried to commit suicide several times, but they were all stopped. Finally, in 138, Hadrian died "in the hatred of all people", not in his beloved Tybalt's detached palace (now Tivoli), but in Baya's detached palace (now Bakoli) near Naples. He was buried in the property that once belonged to Cicero and later transferred to a newly built mausoleum.
Hadrian wrote a poem calling for his dying soul before he died. Its form and spirit are so "not classical" that ancient writers don't like it, but modern poets praise it-Byron once translated it into English, and there have been more than 40 English versions since17th century.
Ah! Lovely distant soul, the companion and guest of this mud body! Which unknown country will you fly to? There is no longer the joy and laughter of the past, but only pale, cold and naked.
This abstract is selected from
Biography of Rome
Victor Masukin [Russia]
Translated by Chen Lei
Rome, the birthplace of western civilization. Goethe once said, "When you see Rome, you see everything." Rome is known as the largest "open-air history museum" in the world, with ancient Greek, Baroque and Gothic architecture ... Reading Roman architecture, the beauty of incomplete art connects the development history of ancient and modern Rome.
The distance between two thousand years and several meters of soil, looking at ancient Rome from afar, is hazy and psychedelic. Victor Jin Song removed these obstacles. Through the appearance of Italy today, he can see the initial transpiration of life in this land around A.D., showing all the cruelty and greatness, luxury and complexity.
This book traces Jin Song's love for the "eternal city" and visits Goethe, Byron, Nikolai Nikolai Gogol, Dickens and Mark? Twain, the Rome written by this master, is either profound in thought or vivid in image. This is not a simple city guide, it goes beyond the buildings and scenery you can see. The city has been full of legends since it was built in the mythical era. Legends of gods, duels of warriors, desolation of war, glory of power and the heyday of Renaissance coexist with conflicts.
Related good books
This book is the first biography of Emperor Hadrian translated and introduced by China. As one of the "five wise emperors" in Rome, he brought relative peace to the chaotic and war-torn empire and brought a golden age and unprecedented prosperity to the Roman economy and society.
Internally, he eased the relationship with the Senate and formed a more benign interaction with it; At the same time, he advocated reform, patrolling the frontier, training the army, compiling codes, improving people's livelihood and revitalizing the economy. Externally, he changed Rome's foreign expansion policy, built Hadrian's Great Wall, and eased relations with neighboring countries. This ruler with great military and political wisdom is also a versatile emperor. He has made great achievements in the fields of literature, art and mathematics. He loved and admired Greek culture, which made Greek art occupy a prominent position in Roman life and had a far-reaching impact on later generations.
However, during Hadrian's reign, he excluded dissidents twice and killed elders and meritorious figures; He brutally suppressed the Jewish uprising, and the Jews were displaced, which led to the Jewish problem that lasted for two thousand years. These also made him more criticized.