Hadrian's Fateful Consolidation

Art Daily: "The British Museum Presents Hadrian: Empire and Conflict Exhibition in London"

The British Museum presents Hadrian: Empire and Conflict, on view through October 26, 2008. The Roman Emperor Hadrian (117 to 138AD) is best known for his passion for Greek culture, interest in architecture, his love for Antinous, and of course the eponymous wall he built between England and Scotland, then Caledonia. (...)

- Caption: Bronze head of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117–138) AD found in the River Thames at London Bridge in 1834. The head comes from a statue, one-and-a-quarter life-size, that may have been erected in a public space in London in AD 122 to commemorate Hadrian's visit to Britain. -

Incorporating recent scholarship and the latest spectacular archaeological discoveries, the exhibition will feature over 180 objects from 28 lenders from Italy to Georgia, from Israel to Newcastle. Loans of dramatic sculpture, exquisite bronzes and architectural fragments will be brought together and displayed for the first time in the UK, alongside famous objects from the Museum’s own collection such as the iconic bronze head of Hadrian and the Vindolanda tablets. (...)

By the time of Hadrian’s accession, the Roman Empire covered much of Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. (...) His first act on coming to power was to withdraw the Roman forces from Mesopotamia, present- day Iraq. Another example of this consolidation was the wall he had built in the north of England to mark the furthest reach of his empire. Hadrian was remarkable in that he travelled extensively across his empire, meeting more of his people than any other emperor before him. Hadrian was a man of great contradiction in both his personality and reign (...) >>>