\b0 A relative of Trajan, he was probably born in Rome
to a family of Spanish origin in 76. In 100 he married Trajan's grandniece Sabina and, at the age of forty-one, was elected emperor by the Senate. \par
He was the first ½humanist╗ emperor, fond of Stoic philosophy, and gave a pacificist slant to his pol
icy. There were no wars during his reign apart from the revolt of the Jews in the last years of his life. \par
He visited all the provinces of the Empire, built Hadrian's Wall in Britain, the Temple of Venus in Rome, and a magnificent villa near Tivoli,
which he probably designed himself. He loved the young Antinous, whom he deified after his premature death, and, having no children, adopted Antoninus to ensure the succession to the Empire. \par
He died at Baia in 138 at the age of sixty-two.\par