In A.D. 119 he began a journey through all the provinces of his empire,
in order to examine into their condition, and to discover and amend any
faults in the system of government. Hadrian, too, was fond of travel,
and was never content to remain long in repose. A large part of his
reign was occupied with this important journey. He first visited Gaul
and Germany, and thence, in A.D. 121, passed over into Britain. Here he
found the Britons already partially civilized, but unable to defend
themselves from the incursions of their neighbors the Caledonians. To
protect them from these forays, he built a wall across the island from
the mouth of the Tyne to Solway, remains of which are still shown to the
traveler. On his return he adorned the town of Nemausus (Nismes) with
fine buildings, and then went into Spain, where he passed the winter. He
returned to Rome A.D. 122, but soon after went to Athens, where he spent
three years. During his residence in that city he began many magnificent
buildings, and he seems to have looked upon Athens with singular
affection and reverence. He visited Sicily, returned to Rome, set out
for Africa, whence, after a brief visit, he once more visited Athens, to
view the completion of his architectural designs. He finished the Temple
of the Olympian Jupiter, the largest and most magnificent in the world,
which had been commenced by Pisistratus, and left many other fine works
behind him. Then he passed through Asia, inspecting the conduct of the
provincial officers, and next traveled through Syria into Egypt, where
his favorite Antinous, a beautiful youth, was drowned. This event seems
to have filled him with a lasting grief. At length, in A.D. 131, he
returned to Rome.

[Illustration: Mole of Hadrian restored.[78]]

Here he published the _Edictum Perpetuum_, a codification of the edicts
of the Roman Praetors, which was composed by Salvius Julianus, an eminent
lawyer. The design of this work was to condense the vast body of the law
into a convenient form.

A revolt broke out among the Jews, Hadrian having established a colony
called AElia Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem, and, not content with
introducing pagan worship into the holy city, had even issued an edict
forbidding the practice of circumcision. These imprudent measures
produced a revolt among the Jews, who, under their leader Barcochab,
fought with their usual courage and desperation. The war continued for
several years, during which m