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Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome.

Episode 85. Antoninus the Beautiful

When Hadrian died in 138, there was no succession issue whatsoever.

Unlike Trajan's neo-Alexandrian silence on the subject and the subsequent doubt and violence that surrounded Hadrian's rise to power,

when Antoninus ailius Caesar returned to Rome with the body of the now dead emperor.

He was welcomed with open arms by the senate, the people, and the army, especially the senate.

They never had been happy with Hadrian and from the very beginning he had been a boogie man in their collective consciousness

with his every act, statement or decree twisted up in their minds to prove that he was actually a dangerous psychopath.

So his death was greeted with barely contained glee, glee enhanced exponentially by the fact that one of their own was taking over.

Antoninus had, after all, been an amiable senator and good standing for more than 20 years before being tapped by Hadrian to become his heir.

At least from the aristocratic point of view then, 138 was a banner year, the monster was dead, and a senator senator now sat on the throne.

Every previous emperor had made their name in the legions, or because they were the blood relative of one of those men who had made their name in the legions.

The only real exception was Nerva, and he had been an executive agent all the way.

...