Emperor Hadrian rules as the fourteenth Roman Emperor from 117 to 138 AD, counted as the third of the Five Good Emperors. He champions cultural growth and peace instead of military conquest, grounding his rule in the belief that public works—especially bathhouses (thermae)—foster social stability and civic betterment more effectively than warfare. Personally invested in architecture, he commissions projects directly to realize his vision for a prosperous Rome. Discovering Lucius Modestus's innovative bath designs leads him to appoint Lucius as his chief bath architect. Their collaboration starts with a private bath at Hadrian's villa and extends to military campaigns like the Bar Kokhba revolt in Jerusalem, where Hadrian tasks Lucius with designing therapeutic baths for troops. He values Lucius's work immensely, eventually bestowing on him the title of imperial bath builder. Facing failing health, Hadrian adopts Lucius Ceionius Commodus (later named Lucius Aurelius Caesar) as heir, intending this as a temporary measure until Marcus Annius Verus reaches maturity. To boost Ceionius's popularity, Hadrian commissions a public bath as his inaugural project, though he privately doubts Ceionius's suitability due to his womanizing. This succession plan fails when Ceionius dies first. Hadrian's personal life includes documented relationships with male companions, most notably Antinous; Antinous's death plunges the Emperor into profound grief and depression, a historical element present in the narrative. His leadership blends pragmatism with cultural patronage. He sees bathhouses as vital to Roman identity and imperial unity, frequently employing Lucius's adaptations of modern Japanese bathing concepts to advance his goals. Despite ruling pressures—military conflicts and succession crises—he consistently focuses on infrastructure and communal well-being as the bedrock of imperial strength.