Hadrian’s Wall
Short History Of...
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Hadrian's Plan to Build a Frontier That Will Last
Hadrian succeeded Trajan as Emperor in 117. He realized that the victory-seeking activities of his predecessors had resulted in the empire being overstretched. So he decided not to expand the empire. On his extensive travels around the provinces, Hadrian orders the construction of physical borders to mark the perimeter of the empire. In Germany, for example, he oversees the installation of a continuous wooden palisade stretching from the Rhine to the Danube. When he visits Britain in 122 AD, he has similar ideas, but this time on a much grander scale. The frontier he proposes will stretch almost from coast to coast at the neck of Britain - south of what is now the border between England
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