The Final Years of the Golden Age of the Roman Empire (118 - 180)

Rome was now ruled by a cousin of the late emperor, Hadrian. Whether Trajan had picked Hadrian himself or his wife had done it for him, we cannot be positive, but either way, there would be no debate as to who took up the throne next. Growing up under the guardianship of Trajan after the death of his parents in 86 AD, Hadrian had long been groomed for political work within the empire. He spent his career serving both political positions and within the military as part of Trajan's entourage. It appeared during Trajan's life that Hadrian was the most likely heir to Rome, yet the certificate of adoption for Hadrian as Trajan's son and heir was signed by Empress Plotina, not Trajan, and it was signed after Trajan was already deceased, while Hadrian was off in Syria entirely unaware. Nevertheless, it was Hadrian himself who informed the Senate of his accession to power and the support he already held from his military. The Senate appears to have accepted this news without hesitation or opposition, and Hadrian was thus confirmed as emperor. The Senate may have quickly regretted this decision though, as despite Hadrian's early promises to respect senatorial rights, four of its members were tried in absentia and executed after Attianus, Hadrian's praetorian prefect, accused the men of conspiring against the new emperor. While Hadrian undeniably rewarded Attianus for his actions, he also made it clear to the Senate that, allegedly, the prefect had acted solely on his own accord, and Hadrian himself had no involvement in the matter. Nevertheless, suspicions surrounding the matter would follow Hadrian like an unrelenting shadow for the rest of his reign. This wouldn't stop Hadrian from being included in the list of Rome's five good emperors however. In fact, it's even believable that he may not have been aware of everything that was going on in Rome, because he spent much of his early years as emperor outside of the capital and touring the frontiers to deal with rebellions and diplomatic road bumps. Hadrian would be in Rome from 125 to 128 AD, yet he again left after that time, this time to tour the east. Hadrian was known to be an explorer as much as he was a military man, and even in times of peace, he was spending many months outside of Rome for the innocent sake of tourism. But Hadrian cared too about his empire, and one of the most famous acts of his reign would be the construction of the Hadrian Wall in 122 AD in Britannia, aimed at protecting Rome's border in the region. He was further generous in many ways, such as his predecessors, and was less ambitious for war than some, such as Trajan. Hadrian was also a poet in his spare time and had a particular taste in agricultural works for himself and his empire. As were some of the earlier rulers of Rome, Hadrian was a mild man of artistic thinking and scarcely portrayed himself in a negative light throughout his time as emperor. Despite his preference for exploration and arts though, in 134 AD, Hadrian had little choice but to leave Rome again, this time in a military capacity. A Jewish revolt in Judea had grown too large to ignore, possibly in response to a Hadrianic ban on circumcision, which the emperor viewed as mutilation. This rather predictably infuriated the Jewish population within the Roman Empire, and thus the revolt broke out, and Hadrian eventually had to deal with the uprising himself. The emperor also had to deal with the issue of succession. He still had no heir. Just as his predecessors had been forced to do so, Hadrian would either need to adopt an heir or allow the Praetorian Guard and Senate to work it out for themselves after he died. Much to the well-being of the empire, he chose to pick an heir whilst still alive. Hadrian would first adopt a 36-year-old, Lucius Ceunius Commodus, but this first choice would die only a few years later, forcing the emperor to adopt another heir. This time, he settled on a teenager by the name of Annius Verus, but not in a predictable way as he'd gone before. He now adopted a senator known as Antoninus and required him to adopt Verus and the child son of the late Lucius Ceunius. The idea was that Antoninus would last only a short while, and Verus would be made emperor when he was more mature and experienced. Antoninus lasted more than a short while in reality, but when Hadrian passed in the summer of 138 AD, he couldn't have known what the future held. At the age of 62 years old, the third of Rome's five good emperors died a slow and excruciating death, leaving his empire now in the hands of his pawn, Antoninus. Born Titus Aurelius Fluvus Bionus Arius Antoninus on September 19th, 86 AD, he became known as Antoninus Pius, and his reign was one of positivity and fairness. Aside from the general reputation, however, little was documented, or at least survived the damage of time, about Emperor Antoninus and his reign. Unlike Hadrian and Trajan, however, we know that Antoninus was fond of remaining in Rome and leaving military endeavors in the hands of his generals. Contrarily, he followed a lot of Hadrian's established policies. Nevertheless, he did free some of the men his predecessors had prosecuted and thrown into prison. He would additionally look to build a wall much like Hadrian. But he didn't continue Hadrian's, he began construction of his own. He also built temples, including one for his adopted father. But aside from these physical monuments of proof, we lack much more to tell the story of Antoninus' time as Emperor of Rome. And in 161 AD, his reign came to an end. Antoninus died of an illness in March, and at long last, Hadrian's true chosen heir was raised to power. Known at this point as Marcus Aurelius, the new emperor was by now an experienced politician within the empire. And yet, for some curious reason, Marcus Aurelius insisted upon his adopted brother Caesar Lucius being made his co-ruler. Why he made this choice is unknown, but unlike most alliances in Rome, this one worked, and the brothers ruled quite well together. Still, their reign wasn't one of simplicity, and war came early on. Parthia once more was looking to take Armenia under its own influence, forcing Rome to throw together a hasty response. Parthia had yet again placed one of their own on the throne next door, ousting King Sohamus in favor of another, Pacorus, the son of the Parthian king. It was now up to Emperor Aurelius to decide how Rome would react, or at least, it was supposed to be. In the Roman Empire, however, things scarcely went as they should, and this case was no exception. Marcus Aurelius may have reacted leisurely, but Marcus Sedatius Severianus, governor of Cappadocia, aimed to be quicker. He, without any approval or knowledge from the emperor, invaded Armenia. The result of this rash decision was an absolute trouncing at the hands of the Parthians, and having wiped out Severianus and his forces, the Parthians then turned their march towards Syria, Roman territory. The subsequent war fell under the command of co-emperor Lucius, and started off with an easy upper hand for the Parthian invaders. Lucius wasn't the skilled warrior or commander that many of his predecessors had been, and he, quite frankly, preferred a life of luxury to one of bloody battles. This served to further impair the Roman effort to save Syria, as did a plague that would rip through the Roman lines and the empire itself. But, thankfully for Lucius, he had brought a few more capable generals along with him, such as the likes of Martius Verus, and victories began to pile up across Armenia and Syria for the Romans. Even within Parthia, the adept commanders found triumph against their fleeing enemies. This was a much-needed victory for Rome, as the late 160s AD saw revolts closer to home from Germanic tribes unsatisfied with their Roman proprietors. It was around this time that Lucius died, either of illness or stroke, leaving Marcus Aurelius alone to run the empire and avoid further bloodshed. This latter task was rather crucial, because war after war was draining Rome's funds, and the emperor had to find a solution to it all, now on his own. The rebellion of the Germanic tribes would never be fully resolved in Marcus Aurelius' reign, but many were at least temporarily quelled before his death. So was an unexpected revolt in Syria by the Roman general-turned-prefect Avidius Cassius, who had previously served quite successfully in the earlier war against the Parthians. He had, it seems, suffered a change of heart and loyalty by now, and in response to a rumor that the emperor had died, attempted to rise up and take the throne of the empire. His own soldiers murdered him before the very much alive Marcus Aurelius could arrive and deal with the traitor. A sad end for Cassius, given that Aurelius had already been willing to hand over his crown if the senate and people of Rome had chosen his challenger, if his own words are to be believed. Either way, the threat to his power was now gone, and after his return to Rome, he found it to be time to choose his heir. It would be his son, Commodus, a sixteen-year-old boy whom he settled on to succeed him. This decision came only three years early, as the great Marcus Aurelius breathed his last breath on March 17th, 180 AD. With him died the era of the Five Good Emperors.