Hadrian, The imperial palace, Tivoli
About this video
Hadrian's villa at Tivoli, about thirty kilometres east of Rome, was far more than a country house: it was a vast summer administration centre for the whole empire, home to thousands of people. It reflects Hadrian's policy of consolidating rather than expanding the empire, and its statues of the Nile, the Tiber and Greek gods made it an empire in miniature.
You'll be able to
- explain why Hadrian's villa was more than a private home.
- contrast Hadrian's consolidation of the empire with Trajan's expansion.
- use statues found at the villa as evidence that it represented the empire in miniature.
Key words
- villa
- A country house; at Tivoli the word undersells a huge complex like a town.
- administration centre
- A place from which a government is run by officials.
- consolidating
- Strengthening and securing what you already have rather than gaining more.
- propagandist
- Someone who spreads messages to persuade people, for example about the glory of an empire.
Transcript
Almost immediately after becoming emperor Hadrian made plans for an imperial villa in the countryside about thirty kilometres east of Rome The scale of the villa is staggering the grounds accessible today cover some ninety acres but the estate was probably three times that We are sitting in one of the most beautiful spots of the villa Adriannna in Tivoli but the word villa doesn't really give a proper impression of what Tivoli is because it's really the summer administration centre for the whole of the Empire It's a huge complex designed to accommodate thousands of people not juts the emperor and his court but all the officials, the administrators, the army and of course the servants and the slaves needed to keep this whole town going
And it gives us a sense of how Hadrian thought of himself as the emperor He's building the great centre here in Rome In fact he was of course very little in Rome he's travelling the frontiers of the Empire he's in north of England supervising the building of the wall he's in Syria, he's in Africa, he's on the Danube, he's on the Nile but unlike Trajan who was constantly expanding, Hadrian is consolidating And one of the ways to consolidate is by making this great administrative capital the villa Adrianna, here in Tivoli He brings elements of the Empire back to the villa here in Tivoli creating not only an alternative seat of government but also the empire in miniature When this pool was excavated there were statues found of the Tiber and the Nile
and of the crocodile but also statues of Greek gods and goddeses Greece and Egypt, the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean brought together here in Tivoli into this landcsape It is one of Hadrian's great achievements, both as a ruler, as a propagandist for empire and also as an organiser of spaces which are very very pleasing to be in
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