Hadrian's Wall Essay

What motivated the construction of Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall?

In studying the motivations behind the construction of both Hadrian’s Wall, in the north of England, and the wall constructed under the rule of Antoninus Pius, in Scotland, we may approach the subject from a number of different angles. Therefore, it is important that a number of factors are taken into account. An investigation into the emperors in question and a look to see if there are any underlining factors based upon their careers, policies and personal views that led to the undertaking of these building programs is a key in answering this question. Coupled with this is an understanding of frontier policy at the time of construction, as well as the political situation

He was forced to give up many of the gains made by Trajan, who himself by the time of his death had struggled to maintain control of his vast empire, such as Mesopotamia, Assyria and Armenia . Another area in which there is said to have been a significant level of conflict was in Britain and that Roman casualties there were numerous . Wilson himself says that the coins minted under Hadrian in A.D. 119 illustrate the “successful action of the Roman army on the British front” . The area was evidently volatile and it had become obvious that the area was in need of a system that would bring as certain level of control and to protect the borders of the Roman Empire. If Hadrian wanted to establish control in Roman Britain and to bring a level of stability to a region that had been devoid of such he would need some way of establishing control in the region. However what differed Britain from other parts of the Roman Empire was that from the period of Agricola to the time of Trajan there had been a policy of withdrawal in Britain. Trajan, like Domitian before him took troops for his Balkan campaigns and to Trajan matters in Britain took a backseat to those in the east