Struck in Hadrian's first regnal year, this Alexandria billon tetradrachm dates to a moment of acute political tension. Hadrian had been declared emperor in August 117 while Trajan's body was still en route from Cilicia — the succession was rushed, the circumstances murky, and four senior senators were executed almost immediately after on what many ancient sources regarded as Hadrian's orders, though he blamed the Senate. The Alexandria mint, one of the few in the empire operating on its own closed currency system, continued producing tetradrachms denominated by regnal year, making issues like this the primary dating evidence for Hadrian's earliest months of rule.
Struck in Hadrian's first regnal year, this Alexandria billon tetradrachm dates to a moment of acute political tension. Hadrian had been declared emperor in August 117 while Trajan's body was still en route from Cilicia — the succession was rushed, the circumstances murky, and four senior senators were executed almost immediately after on what many ancient sources regarded as Hadrian's orders, though he blamed the Senate. The Alexandria mint, one of the few in the empire operating on its own closed currency system, continued producing tetradrachms denominated by regnal year, making issues like this the primary dating evidence for Hadrian's earliest months of rule.