Hadrian: The Restless Emperor

by Anthony R. Birley

Hadrian's reign (AD 117-138) was a watershed in the history of the Roman Empire. Hadrian abandoned his predecessor Trajan's eastern conquests - Mesopotamia and Armenia - trimmed down the lands beyond the lower Danube, and constructed new demarcation lines in Germany, North Africa, and most famously Hadrian's Wall in Britain, to delimit the empire.
The emperor Hadrian, a strange and baffling figure to his contemporaries, had a many-sided personality. Insatiably ambitious, and a passionate Philhellene, he promoted the 'Greek Renaissance' extravagantly. But his attempt to Hellenize the Jews, including the outlawing of circumcision, had disastrous consequences, and his 'Greek' love of the beautiful Bithynian boy Antinous ended in tragedy.
No comprehensive account of Hadrian's life and reign has been attempted for over seventy years. In The Restless Emperor , Anthony Birley brings together the new evidence from inscriptions and papyri, and up-to-date and in-depth examination of the work of other scholars on aspects of Hadrian's reign and policies such as the Jewish war, the coinage, Hadrian's building programme in Rome, Athens and Tivoli, and his relationship with his favourite, Antinous, to provide a thorough and fascinating account of the private and public life of a man who, though hated when he died, left an indelible mark on the Roman Empire.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Roman History, Biography Memoir, Classical Studies

420 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 1997

About the author

Anthony Richard Birley FSA was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic.

Reviews

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-La sinceridad es una virtud… ah, bueno, que también hay otros que creen que es un pecado-.

Género. Biografía.

Lo que nos cuenta. Viaje (en todos los sentidos) por la vida de Publio Elio Adriano, que llevó las riendas del Imperio Romano durante 21 años.

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[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed account of the life of Hadrian and history of the Roman Empire during his rule. Very difficult to truly understand his personality; sources such as personal letters, memoirs and diaries etc from his contemporaries are not available to us and his autobiography is now lost. Official sources, inscriptions, coins, archaeology, and some vague histories are what is left, plus a lot of interpretation. Interesting to be reminded that whilst in Europe today he is remembered as a great emperor, for the Jews Hadrian (“may his bones rot” says the Talmud) was a disaster.

A good academic read and particularly interesting if you’ve already read and enjoyed Marguerite Yourcenar’s “Memoirs of Hadrian”.

[Alexandru Parvu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has modeled my political opinions, showing me that a great leader is not a conqueror but a good administrator with no wish for conquest.

[Brock Tarlton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not dope.

[Russell Sveda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best, most definitive, biography of the Emperor Hadrian, based on recent research. For example, studies of memorial stones for retired commanders who had served under Hadrian, as well as commemorative coins.

This book should remove any regard for Marguerite Yourcenar's "Memoirs of Hadrian" as history. Her book remains magnificent literature. She relied too much on Dio Cassius, who seems to have had some kind of animus toward Hadrian.

For example, Yourcenar repeats the assertion by Dio Cassius that Hadrian was born in Iberia, and spoke Latin poorly. In fact,points out Birley, at the time of Hadrian's birth, Hadrian's father was a senator, senators were required to reside in Rome if they were not assigned as governors outside of Rome, and Hadrian's father was not a governor then. Hadrian most probably was born either in Rome or at Tivoli, where the family had a country villa.

[Lena_makridina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how to rate this book.

I usually rate them according to my personal enjoyment of the story. That's why there are a lot of 5 star mysteries in this little corner of Goodreads.

I'm trying to get into Non-Fiction and this wasn't the book to start with. I'm sure it's a very thorough study and I understand the difficulty of telling a story based on snippets of information that are mainly found in coins, on facades of buildings or naming-renaming of a city, but I found myself dozing off more often then I would like to.
I liked Marguerite Yourcenar's Hadrian I don't really know Anthony R. Birley's Hadrian.
Loved the conclusion. In short:
- Are you confused?
- Yes, very much so.
- Well, you are not the only one.
:)

[Windsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better books in this series in my opinion. Although it is bogged down by too many citations sometimes, it gives credit to the book and the author's analysis and narrative are superb. Gives an outlook of an emperor who was seen taking a step back from Trajan, as he pulled back the emperor's borders after the Trajan expansions. He also built the Hadrian Wall, which stood in Britain as a border between Rome and the Scotts for many centuries. Hadrian is also a very cultured emperor. This book shows why Hadrian is easily called a "good emperor".

[Peter Hakkenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and of interest as the emperor during the Jewish revolt of the years 132-135. His young lover Antinous was drowned in the Nile and was made a god and identified with the Egyptian god of rebirth, Osiris. A very interesting read.

[Starvix Draxon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It was good, but it lacked narrative. I found it informative, but his prose too...prosy. It uses the kind of academic that leaves one a bit confused as to what is happening or being talked about in the book. Nonethless it did prove interesting, so I'll grant it that.