Hadrian's Empire

Oxbow says: Hadrian's name lives on today in the Wall that he had built along the northernmost fringe of his empire. Hadrian himself though, as this biography makes clear, was a man well worth knowing in his own right. In a straightforward and accessible manner, the authors introduce us to a figure full of energy, of intellect, of military prowess (without the bloodthirst), with a great capacity for drink and with an ability to make and keep friends. This charismatic emperor was unlike any of his predecessors, adopting an unregal beard, and was well regarded by many, especially when contrasted with the likes of Caligula and Nero. But he was also pernickety, unfashionably good with money, often lacking in humour, neglectful of his wife, a know it all, and unpopular for his choice of sexual favourites. Above all, he was restless. In addition to providing a thorough portrait of a somewhat complex man, this book also introduces the reader to Hadrian's empire, to life within its borders and on its edges. The authors investigate the ways in which Romans of a certain class would have regarded themselves, the opportunities available to them, their sophistication, and their chances for advancement through administration and the military. The study also considers Roman morality in the early 2nd century, their participation in entertainments, their use of slaves, the bathhouse and dining table, their religious conservatism and their obsession with sex. Throughout, the book looks at how Hadrian fitted in with, or led, Roman morality and society and how Rome regarded its emperor of 21 years. Not surprisingly the book also takes us to Britain and to many of the other provinces that the wandering emperor visited as he stamped his mark and legacy on the empire, not least of which were the many cities founded in the name of his lover, lost to the Nile. Danziger is familiar to us from his popular and accessible accounts of the years 1000 and 1215, an approach here applied to a different era, aided by the classicist Purcell.