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Which lands conquered by Trajan did Hadrian abandon?
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Hadrian
White marble statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian, from an excavation at Sagalassos in southwest Turkey.
Upon succeeding Trajan as Roman emperor in 117 CE, Hadrian abandoned the territorial gains made by his predecessor in the East. Specifically, he relinquished all Roman claims to the following lands:12
- Armenia12
- Mesopotamia12
- Assyria1
Hadrian’s decision to withdraw from these regions was driven by a sincere desire for peace and a strategic shift toward consolidating the empire’s existing frontiers rather than continuing the expansionist policies of the previous reign.12