Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer

P. A. Hadrianus Afer from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer was a distinct and wealthy Roman Senator and soldier who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century. Hadrianus Afer was originally from Spain; however, he was of Roman descent. He was born and raised in the grand city of Italica (near modern Seville, Spain) in the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica. He came from a well-established, wealthy and aristocratic family of Praetorian rank. He was the son of the noble Roman woman called Ulpia and his father was a Roman Senator called Publius Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus. Hadrianus Afer’s maternal uncle was the Roman General and Senator Marcus Ulpius Traianus, the father of Ulpia Marciana and her younger brother Emperor Trajan. Ulpia Marciana and Trajan were his maternal cousins.

Throughout his life, Hadrianus Afer spent various amounts of his time in Rome. His surname Afer is Latin for African. He received the surname Afer as a nickname, due to his outstanding service in Mauretania. Hadrianus Afer married Domitia Paulina, a Spanish Roman woman from a distinguished senatorial family who came from Gades (modern Cádiz, Spain). Their children were a daughter, Aelia Domitia Paulina (75–130) and a son, Emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76–138). After reaching the praetorship, Afer and his wife died in 86. His son and daughter were put in the guardianship of his cousin Trajan and the Roman officer Publius Acilius Attianus.

Sources

• Historia Augusta - Life of Hadrian
• Roman-emperors.org
• Library.thinkquest.org
• Romans-inbritain.org.uk