In His History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon hailed Hadrian's reign as "the happiest age for mankind."
However, as one of the "Five Wise Emperors of Rome", Hadrian was not only far less well-known than the rulers such as Caesar and Octavian, but even the relevant historical records were few and far between, and it was a mystery.
Why did The Emperor Hadrian, who had no lack of merit, obscure his face in the long river of history, become "the most mysterious man in ancient Rome"?
Perhaps, a large part of the reason lies in his complex and changeable personality - grumpy and affectionate, cold and kind, hardworking and happy.
He was a patriotic idealist, but he displaced Jews for two thousand years;
He is a friend of women, but he is indifferent to his wife all his life;
He is a courtesy corporal, but he often competes with the insider;
…………
His "fine division" made many historians scratch their heads, coupled with the lack of historical materials, historians have always had different opinions about the emperor, with mixed praise and criticism. Some people say that he is "upright and kind", but some people say that he is "annoying and improper". The exact opposite comments left the image of the emperor confused.
Until today, the first domestic translation of Hadrian's biography "Hadrian's Biography: The Glory of Rome" has finally come out, and the British best-selling author Anthony Everett patiently pieced together a complex spiritual portrait of a generation of sages in the fragments of historical materials, leading readers to look back at the war and civilization of rome's heyday.
Energetic middle-aged Hadrian dressed in a general's robe. He was the first Roman emperor to have a Greek beard, which was followed by posterity. (British Museum)
Emperor Xian or Tyrant? Two faces of the Emperor
Being able to squeeze into the queue of the "Five Wise Men of Rome", Hadrian's reputation as approachable is by no means false!
Hadrian regarded Augustus as an "idol", took the ancient sages as an example, drew on the paradigm of ancient virtue, and implemented the purpose of the commoner fuehrer throughout his life, did not like to hold the majestic shelf of the emperor, and always asked himself to be a corporal and enjoy with the people.
Although an emperor, Hadrian often worked with his subordinates and exchanged government affairs face-to-face. He did not monopolize power, but wisely carried forward the Roman tradition and invited the ruling class of the provinces to govern the empire together.
In addition to ensuring equal communication at work, Hadrian is also a "heart-warming" leader who is considerate of the lives of his subordinates. According to a biography of the emperor, Emperor Hadrian often attended the banquets of his friends and played with his subordinates; if anyone was sick, even if he was only a knight or even a slave, he would take care of them one by one, even visiting the sick two or three times a day.
Of course, Hadrian was not only a good hand at appeasing the upper class, but also a man of the ability to please the people of the city of Rome.
At the beginning of his term of office, he burned all the debts owed by the people to the government in front of everyone in the square, which quickly won him the hearts and minds of the people.
Even though he was entangled in government affairs, he still attached great importance to the opportunity to enjoy with the people and listen to the voices of the people, and often took the time to watch the celebrations with the people. At the celebration, Hadrian often sat in a precarious position, watching the ceremony with full concentration, never wandering, and not easily showing bored emotions. Once I almost didn't control my emotions, and afterwards I blamed myself.
According to records, Hadrian once saw an old man rubbing his back on the wall in a public bath, so he went forward to ask why, and the old man explained that because he was poor, he could not afford to ask a slave to rub his back. Havingrian heard of this, he immediately ordered two slaves and a large amount of money to be given to the old man. This anecdote became so good that when Hadrian visited the public bath again, he found a row of old people standing by the wall rubbing their backs for a reward.
Bust of the young Hadrian, but made at the end of hadrian's dynasty. (Found in the annex in Tivoli)
However, such an "angelic" emperor who seemed to have a "bodhisattva heart" became a cruel demon in the eyes of the Jews!
Since Titus' capture of Jerusalem in the 1st century AD, the Jews have been a destabilizing factor in the Roman Empire. Hadrian's commitment to romanizing the Jewish quarter further strained the situation. The imposition of the circumcision ban and the rebuilding of Jerusalem completely infuriated the Jews, whose faith was unshakable, and who apparently could not accept the reconstruction of their "holy city" into the Greek city of Elia Capitolina, devoid of Jewish character.
The anger of the Jews who refused to accept Romanization grew, and finally, in 132 AD, a massive uprising broke out in Judia (present-day Palestine) and the whole city was in turmoil.
Faced with the most severe military crisis since his accession to the throne, Hadrian quickly gathered heavy troops to suppress the uprising bloodily, slaughtering the insurgents without mercy. Hadrian, who has always loved the people like a son, killed the red eye in this Jewish war that took 3 years, refused to make the slightest concession and compromise, and vowed to cut the grass and remove the roots, and hundreds of thousands of people were killed.
After the war, in order to completely erase this tricky and stubborn people from memory, Hadrian renamed Jerusalem and coined a new word "Palestine" to replace Judia, and all Jews were strictly forbidden to enter their capital. Countless Jewish people were forced to flee their homeland and wandered for two thousand years, and the shocks still exist today, which is also the source of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
For Hadrian, the victory in the Jewish wars may have been another level of defeat: his painstaking image of being pro-people was devastated, leaving a terrible stain; it also made people realize that the Roman Empire would ultimately be sustained by violence.
Emperor Xian and tyrant, two diametrically opposed black and white images coexist in Hadrian's body, sometimes friendly and tolerant like a neighbor's brother, sometimes cruel and tyrannical into a messenger of hell, and the elusive ruling wrist is the perfect model of "the heart of the emperor, the needle under the sea".
Hadrian's edict built a long wall of seventy-three miles that spanned northern Britain. It starts in South Shields on the east bank and ends in Ravenglas in the west, and is one of Rome's greatest engineering marvels. Pictured here is one of the Eighty Mile Forts near Northumberland Steele Rigg. (British Museum)
Subordinate good friends or intellectuals' nemesis? Self-cultivation of the school bully
Hadrian is erudite and versatile, has a deep attainment in literature, art, mathematics and other fields, and is a full-fledged university bully!
He was a romantic poet. On a whim, Hadrian would compose poems to commemorate the tragic fate of Epaminonda and his lover, to pray for the results of hunting in the mountains, to mourn the reappearance of Pompey's tombstone...
He was also an unremarkable genius of language. Not only did he switch freely between Latin and Greek, but he also wrote two volumes of dialogues on grammar; he was full of expressiveness in everything, and he wrote a collection of huiying (both of which unfortunately are now scattered).
He is a brainy architect. Many buildings, such as the Pantheon, Hadrian's Mausoleum, and Hadrian's Annex, which he personally presided over and designed, have been preserved, and these architectural masterpieces have established his place in the history of ancient architecture. In addition, he understands the importance of civil engineering. To defend the border, he ordered the construction of Hadrian's Long Wall, separating Rome from foreign enemies; wherever he went, he would spend money on urban infrastructure, build viaducts, canals, pave new roads or renovate old ones, and donate generously to build temples and other public buildings.
Even so omnipotent, Hadrian was still a humble corporal, mingling with his subordinates informally, and often communicating on professional issues on an equal footing regardless of class character.
This model shows the grand scale of hadrian's annex near Tivoli. (Hadrian Annex)
However, this scholar is sometimes conceited and frightening, especially fond of famous intellectuals, and even causes a bloody storm due to a disagreement in a professional opinion.
At a seminar of scholars, the emperor who was sitting in the audience had to get up and participate in the debate, and even ridiculed, despised, and humiliated the authority. His stinky temper caused many other famous masters to form a bond, so much so that a famous scholar dismissed it and said contemptuously: "He is right, who made him emperor?" ”
What's even more frightening is that once its strong self-esteem is trampled, it may even lead to the disaster of killing!
The famous architect Apollo Dorus once ridiculed Hadrian. Years later, the unconvinced emperor showed him the drawings he had designed, hoping that he would retract the sarcasm and say some compliments, but Apollo doulus made sharp criticisms. Theo · Cassius writes:
Enraged, the emperor exiled the architect and later sentenced him to death.
Hadrian, the all-powerful scholar, is certainly capable, but he sometimes seems overly narcissistic, especially likes to act as an expert to show off. He was irritable and affectionate, cold and kind, so that his subjects could not discern what his attitude towards the talented.
It seems that it is indeed not easy to be a friend of the school bully.
In the center of the annex is Hadrian's paradise site , a trench that cuts off a small circular building from the outside world.
Diligent or greedy for pleasure? The human reality of social animals
Although Hadrian came to the world, there was a senate that was deeply estranged from the emperors, and there were neighboring countries that were staring at the tigers outside, and in the midst of internal and external troubles, Hadrian, as the supreme, had to be a social animal who worked hard to lift bricks to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the empire.
In the face of complicated government affairs, Hadrian did not shirk his responsibilities, let alone "throw the pot" indiscriminately, but must be personally involved in everything, and spared no details for various major events all day long.
Unlike his predecessors, who were fierce in their outward expansion, Hadrian advocated "good governance," arguing that what was important was peace and economics, not war and expansion. Therefore, he stopped attacking the city and built the famous Hadrian Wall, showing his determination to stop fighting; internally, improve the people's livelihood, revitalize the economy, and enhance the quality of life of the people.
Instead of shutting himself in the palace to listen to the reports of his subordinates, he tirelessly inspected various places, personally inspected the customs and customs of the people, solved local government affairs, and at the same time built public facilities according to local conditions and revised strict laws and regulations.
During his reign, Rome's crop yields reached record highs, the standard of living of the people rose rapidly, and Rome reached unprecedented prosperity.
The Pantheon was originally commissioned by Augustus's friend and colleague Agrippa, and was later completely rebuilt by Hadrian. It is the best preserved of ancient Roman architecture and is still used as a Christian church today.
However, government affairs as busy as Hadrian also have a side of indulgence!
Hadrian had a bad relationship with his wife Sabina, but his love life was legendary. The Biography of the Roman King recounts that he "liked to have sex with men and fornicated with married women." In the second half of his life, he took his little lover, the beautiful teenager Antineus, around and built a lot of houses for him. After the mysterious drowning of Antineus, Hadrian idolized him throughout the country, and the worship of Antinous arose everywhere.
During the tour, he often takes the opportunity to vacation, especially keen on hunting, and does not miss any opportunity to have fun and play exciting. Sometimes when playing with the heart, Hadrian would be happy and lingering among the beautiful scenery. Fascinated by Greek culture, Hadrian often looked for opportunities to vacation to the sacred place of his heart.
In his more than twenty years in power, he was not only a down-to-earth doer, but also an unruly side of indulging passions, some people thought he was charming, and some people spurned him.
According to later research, the elderly Hadrian should have looked like this—disillusioned and terminally ill. (Archaeological Museum of Chania, Crete)
All the labels on Hadrian's body seem contradictory, but in fact they are unified.
He is not like the emperors who are in the limelight or who are ordered to turn the tide in times of danger, or to open up territory and conquer the four directions, but more like ordinary people like you and me, who have courage and selfish desires, who will laugh and be angry, and dare to love and hate.
It is difficult to conclude that this is the norm of life.
Hadrian's Mausoleum
Related books
Hadrian lived in a turbulent and thrilling time. In the 2nd century AD, he became the ruler of the Roman Empire and was arguably the most successful Roman ruler. As a battle-hardened soldier and an incompetent administrator, he reigned in the heyday of the Roman Empire and made two propositions for the longevity of Rome...
This book is the first biography of Emperor Hadrian in a domestic translation. As one of the "Five Wise Emperors" of Rome, he brought a relatively peaceful situation to the chaotic and war-torn empire, and brought a golden period and unprecedented prosperity to the Roman economy and society. Internally, he eased relations with the Senate and formed a more benign interaction with it; at the same time, he advocated reforms, toured the frontiers, trained the army, codified the code, improved people's livelihood, and revitalized the economy. Externally, he changed Rome's long-standing policy of foreign expansion, built Hadrian's Wall, and eased relations with neighboring countries. This ruler, who had great military and political wisdom, was also a polymath emperor with profound achievements in literature, art, and mathematics. His love and admiration for Greek culture made Greek art prominent in Roman life and had a profound impact on future generations. During his reign, however, Hadrian twice excluded dissidents and murdered senators and meritorious men; he brutally suppressed Jewish uprisings and displaced Jews, leading to the Jewish problem that lasted for two thousand years. These have also caused him to be criticized a lot.