Paulina or Paullina (, ) is a common female given name Latin. Paulina was a name shared by the mother, sister, and niece of the Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

Paulina Major, mother of Hadrian

(Domitia) Paulina (or Paullina) Major (''Major'' being Latin for 'the elder'), also known in English as Paulina the Elder (?–85/86) was a 1^st-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

woman born in Gades (present-day

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Spain). She was a daughter of a distinguished senatorial family. Little is known about her life. She may have been related to Domitia Lucilla, grandmother of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

; G. Di Vita-Evard speculated that they might have been half-sisters. Paulina married

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer was a distinguished and wealthy Roman senator and soldier who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century. Hadrianus Afer was originally from Hispania and was of Roman descent. He was born and raised in the ci ...

, a Roman

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

, also born in Hispania, paternal cousin of Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

. Paulina and Afer had two children: a daughter, Aelia Domitia Paulina (75–130), and a son, the future emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76–138). Around 85 or 86 Paulina died of unknown causes, predeceasing her husband. After Afer's own death,their children were raised by Trajan and the Roman officer

Publius Acilius Attianus Publius Acilius Attianus (1st – 2nd century AD), also known as Caelius Attianus, was a powerful Roman official who played a significant, though obscured, role in the transfer of power from Trajan to Hadrian. Life He was born in Italica, ...

Paulina Minor, sister of Hadrian

Aelia Domitia Paulina or Paullina or Domitia Paulina Minor (''Minor'' being Latin for 'the younger'), also known in English as Paulina the Younger (early 75–130), elder child and only daughter of Domitia Paulina Major and

, the only sibling of

. She was born and raised in present-day Spain, probably in

Italica Italica () was an ancient Ancient Rome, Roman city in Hispania; its site is close to the town of Santiponce in the province of Seville, Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general Scipio Africanus, Scipio as a ''Colonia (Roman), colonia'' f ...

Hispania Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. After her parents died around 86, she and her brother were raised by their father's paternal cousin, the future emperor

and officer

. Before his accession to the throne, Trajan arranged for Paulina Minor to marry the Iberian Roman politician

Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus (45 – 136 AD) was an Iberian Roman politician. He was a prominent public figure in the reigns of Roman emperors Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian. He was the last private citizen to receive a third consulship; such honors ...

Julia Paulina, niece of Hadrian

Julia (Serviana) Paulina (or Paullina) was the daughter and only child of Iberian Roman politician and

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

and Paulina Minor. She was born at an unknown time and place between 98 and 117, during the reign of her third cousin Emperor

. Some time before Trajan's death in 117, her parents arranged for her to marry the Roman senator Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, ordinary consul in 118. Roman senator

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

sent a letter of congratulations to her parents regarding her wedding (''Epistulae'', VI.26). Her husband was originally from present-day

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain (then in the Roman province of

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

), himself son of a former consul of the same name. In 118, during her husband's consulship, Julia Paulina had a son, the younger Lucius Pedanius Fuscus Salinator. Julia Paulina and her husband seem to have both died before 136. Her father Servianus and Emperor Hadrian organised a private funeral for her. The Emperor was ridiculed by the public for only granting his niece a state funeral and apotheosis under pressure from the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, but bestowing a sumptuous funeral and full divine honours on his lover

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...

. Julia's father Servianus cherished the idea that her son would succeed Hadrian, whom the aging Emperor himself considered his heir. He promoted the young Salinator, gave him special status in his court, and prepared him for the succession. However, in 136, Hadrian changed his mind and adopted

Lucius Aelius Caesar Lucius Aelius Caesar (13 January 101 – 1 January 138) was the father of Emperor Lucius Verus. In 136, he was adopted by the reigning emperor Hadrian and named heir to the throne. He died before Hadrian and thus never became emperor. After Lu ...

as his heir. Julia's father and son planned to challenge his decision; to avoid any conflict, Hadrian ordered their deaths.

References

Sources

* ''Augustan History'': Hadrian
Hadrian (A.D. 117-138)
* * {{usurped,

} 1st-century Roman women 2nd-century Roman women Romans from Hispania Nerva–Antonine dynasty Aelii Domitii

Paulina Paulina or Paullina (, ) is a common female given name Latin. Paulina was a name shared by the mother, sister, and niece of the Roman Emperor, Roman emperor Hadrian. Paulina Major, mother of Hadrian (Domitia) Paulina (or Paullina) Major (''Ma ...

Ancient Roman prosopographical lists of women