Hadrian Abandons Trajan's Eastern Conquests
Hadrian became emperor in August 117 CE under disputed circumstances. He faced an empire at the limits of its administrative capacity and a military stretched across unsecured new conquests. His immediate decision was to reverse Trajan's conquests. He withdrew Roman forces from Mesopotamia and Assyria, restored the client-king relationship in Armenia, and made peace with Parthia. The Euphrates, not the Tigris, would be Rome's eastern boundary. Four senior senators who had commanded under Trajan and opposed this strategic retreat were executed — an act that began Hadrian's troubled relationship with the senatorial class. The strategic logic was clear enough to historians if not to the outraged generals. Mesopotamia was indefensible from the north and east without an unlimited supply of troops. The Jewish revolt of 115-117 CE had shown how badly overstretched Roman resources were. This philosophy expressed itself physically in the famous walls: Hadrian's Wall in Britain (begun 122 CE), defensive works along the Danube, and careful consolidation of all frontiers. Hadrian spent most of his reign travelling the provinces personally, inspecting troops, founding cities, and building — a deliberate policy of presence that substituted for conquest.
- Year: 117 CE
- Category: Political
