Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer

P A Hadrianus Afer from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer was a distinct and wealthy Roman Senator and Soldier who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century. Afer was originally from Spain; however, he was of Roman descent. He was born and raised in the grandeur city of Italica (near modern Seville, Spain) in the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica. He came from a well-established, wealthy and aristocratic family of Praetorian rank. He was the son of the noble Roman woman called Ulpia and his father was a Roman Senator called Publius Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus. Afer’s maternal uncle was the Roman General and Senator Marcus Ulpius Traianus, the father of Ulpia Marciana and her younger brother Emperor Trajan. Ulpia Marciana and Trajan were his maternal cousins.

Throughout his life, Afer spent various amount of his time in Rome. His surname Afer is Latin for African. He received the surname Afer as a nickname, due to his understanding service in Mauretania. Afer married Domitia Paulina, a Spanish Roman woman from a distinguished senatorial family who came from Gades (modern Cádiz, Spain). Their children were a daughter, Aelia Domitia Paulina (75-130) and a son, Emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76-138). After reaching the praetorship, Afer and his wife died in 86. His son and daughter were put in the guardianship of his cousin Trajan and Roman Officer Publius Acilius Attianus.

Nerva–Antonine family tree [edit]

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse (not shown)
(3) = 3rd spouse
SMALL CAPS = posthumously deified (Augusti, Augustae, or other)
dotted lines indicate adoption or (in the case of Hadrian and Antinous) alleged lovers