Editing Hadrian (section)

===Succession===
Failure to nominate an heir could invite chaotic, destructive wresting of power by a succession of competing claimants – a civil war. Too early a nomination could be seen as an abdication and reduce the chance for an orderly transmission of power.<ref>Fündling, 384; Strobel, 401.</ref> As Trajan lay dying, nursed by his wife, Plotina, and closely watched by Prefect Attianus, he could have lawfully adopted Hadrian as heir by means of a simple deathbed wish, expressed before witnesses;<ref>John Richardson, "The Roman Mind and the power of fiction" IN Lewis Ayres, Ian Gray Kidd, eds. ''The Passionate Intellect: Essays on the Transformation of Classical Traditions : Presented to Professor I.G. Kidd''. New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1995, {{ISBN|1-56000-210-7}}, p. 128</ref> but when an adoption document was eventually presented, it was signed not by Trajan but by Plotina.<ref>Birley, Anthony, Hadrian, the restless emperor, London / New York 1997, pp 77f, based on Dio and the Historia Augusta; Elizabeth Speller, p. 25</ref> That Hadrian was still in Syria was a further irregularity, as Roman adoption law required the presence of both parties at the adoption ceremony. Rumours, doubts, and speculation attended Hadrian's adoption and succession. It has been suggested that Trajan's young manservant Phaedimus, who died very soon after Trajan, was killed (or killed himself) rather than face awkward questions.<ref>Birley, ''Restless Emperor'', p. 80</ref> Ancient sources are divided on the legitimacy of Hadrian's adoption: [[Cassius Dio]] saw it as bogus and the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' writer as genuine.<ref>Stephan Brassloff, "Die Rechtsfrage bei der Adoption Hadrians". ''Hermes'' 49. Bd., H. 4 (Sep. 1914), pp. 590–601</ref> An [[aureus]] minted early in Hadrian's reign represents the official position; it presents Hadrian as Trajan's "[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]" (Trajan's heir designate).<ref>The coin legend runs HADRIANO TRAIANO CAESARI; see Burnett, Andrew, The early coinage of Hadrian and the deified Trajan at Rome and Alexandria, American Journal of Numismatics 20, 2008, pp 459–477; see also Roman, Yves, Rémy, Bernard & Riccardi, Laurent:" Les intrigues de Plotine et la succession de Trajan. À propos d'un aureus au nom d'Hadrien César". ''Révue des études anciennes'', T. 111, 2009, no. 2, pp. 508–517; For the portrait type of Hadrian on his early coins of 117AD with a partial beard showing his chin free of a beard see Pangerl, Andreas, Hadrian’s First and Second Imperial Portrait Types of 117–118 AD; Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte 71, 2021, pp. 171–184</ref>