Word: hadrian
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When the Roman emperor Hadrian ascended to power in A.D. 117, he inherited a state in crisis. Trajan, his predecessor, had stretched the Roman Empire to its furthest reaches through aggressive military campaigns, sparking rebellions from Britain to the shores of the Persian Gulf. Once installed as ruler, Hadrian reversed the expansionist trend and withdrew troops from what is now Iraq. Thorsten Opper, a curator of Greek and Roman antiquities at the British Museum, says Hadrian realized then what coalition forces realize now: that it's easier to control territory through a friendly, well-functioning government than through occupation...
...image of an overextended empire mired in conflict in the Middle East sounds eerily familiar, and the British Museum builds on this geopolitical relevance in "Hadrian: Empire and Conflict," a fascinating study of the Roman ruler. Drawn from 11 countries, the 170 objects on display provide a remarkably layered portrait of Hadrian as a skilled statesman, an amateur architect and an unabashed homosexual - a man far more dynamic and complex than his idealized busts suggest...
Early in his reign, which lasted 21 years until his death in A.D. 138, Hadrian set about reshaping Rome's overreaching foreign policy. He withdrew troops from flashpoints such as Armenia, but maintained influence overseas through complicated negotiations and treaties. "The Romans could still project power beyond their borders," says Opper, but "they did it through diplomacy." Meanwhile, he used financial carrots to win over citizens at home: the show features a relief in which wax tablets listing Romans' debts are carried off by soldiers to be burned...
...Taliban territory Beyond Tarin Kowt, the ISAF's footprint is much lighter. Its second base, Camp Hadrian, with 400 troops, is at Deh Rewood, 50 km to the west. Two forward operating bases are also within 40 km of the capital. Four small U.S. bases lie further out, but beyond these secure zones, say locals, the Taliban have almost free rein...
...Angeles, there will be a kind of What-We-Got-Back-From the Getty exhibit. After that, permanent homes will be found, though Rutelli jokes that the statues don't get to choose their company. "After Boston returned her, we sent the statue of the wife of the emperor Hadrian back to Tivoli to be beside her husband, though we're not sure if he was so happy to have her back. He was a restless one." Rutelli, who is happily married, is clearly restless in other ways. With reporting by Richard Lacayo/New York