Publius Aelius Hadrianus succeeded Trajan in AD 117. Allegedly Hadrian had been adopted by the emperor on his deathbed and the senate recognised him. Hadrian suppressed rebellion in Mauritania and followed a policy of reconciliation on the frontiers. He was responsible for several reforms and gave spectacular games as acts of generosity. In AD 119 Hadrian held his third consulship and two years later embarked on a series of travels abroad. Near the end of his reign Hadrian had become seriously ill and he adopted Lucius Aelius Caesar as his successor. The latter died in AD 138 and was replaced by Antoninus Pius. Hadrian died in the same year at Baiae.
Coin portraits depict Hadrian with lean features, wavy hair, a proudly poised head, alert eyes and a marked brow ridge. His close cut beard - the first emperor to do so, set a new fashion in Rome. Portraiture of Hadrian displayed a new idealisation of the emperor's image and thus departed from the verism of its predecessors. Issued between AD 125 and AD 128.