Emperor Hadrian's Journeys into Anatolia

Emperor Hadrian visited the provinces of Rome during the half of his reign. The primary purpose of these journeys was to get to know the empire better. He inspected the legions and developed the weapons in the provinces he visited. He had ditches dug and built walls. He formed definite borders between Barbarians and Romans. He transformed the empire into a manageable place. Hadrian paid visits to Anatolia as well as other regions. After he had been proclaimed as the emperor, he visited Anatolia once for going to Rome and he was there again three times more at later times. His presence in Anatolia caused great changes in many cities. The construction activities he conducted, his aids to the cities, and his establishment of new cities led to the beginning of a new era in Anatolia. Hadrian was regarded as an euergetes (benefector) by the cities he helped. Altars, sculptures, fountains, baths, temples were built in the name of him. He was proclaimed as God by the cities. In this study, we focused on the journeys of Emperor Hadrian in Anatolia. The study, in the scope of these journeys, attempted to present Hadrian's commendation by the cities, his financial aids to the cities, his intervention to the finances of the cities, and his arrangements in the cities through the laws he enforced. The emperor Hadrianus, who had been in Anatolia four times, still maintains his presence in Anatolia with the cities he built, the colonies, the temples constructed on his name and the city gates.