Bithynium Claudiopolis, originally a Hellenistic foundation refounded under Hadrian who claimed it as his birthplace — though modern scholarship has repeatedly questioned that assertion — retained strong ties to the Hadrianic cult well into the third century. The city's persistent use of the ΑΔΡΙΑΝΩΝ ethnic on its coinage, even under Valerian and Gallienus nearly 130 years after Hadrian's death, reflects a calculated civic identity built around that imperial connection rather than any living relationship with Rome's ruling house.
Bithynium Claudiopolis, originally a Hellenistic foundation refounded under Hadrian who claimed it as his birthplace — though modern scholarship has repeatedly questioned that assertion — retained strong ties to the Hadrianic cult well into the third century. The city's persistent use of the ΑΔΡΙΑΝΩΝ ethnic on its coinage, even under Valerian and Gallienus nearly 130 years after Hadrian's death, reflects a calculated civic identity built around that imperial connection rather than any living relationship with Rome's ruling house.