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Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus

About 122 Hadrian dismissed Suetonius Tranquillus and Septicius Clarus from court offices, a shock later tied to the empress Sabina’s household. The dated purge is not the Wall’s construction and not the four consulars of 118. In the causal graph this event strengthens Political Polarization, a driver that weakens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.

Read the full account

About 122 Hadrian dismissed Suetonius Tranquillus and Septicius Clarus from court offices, a shock later tied to the empress Sabina’s household. The dated purge is not the Wall’s construction and not the four consulars of 118. Hadrian’s documented role is: Later HA reports a dismissal of the ab epistulis Suetonius and praetorian prefect Septicius for court-protocol offences regarding Sabina. The court shock is received; details are thin. A court dismissal is not a frontier barrier. Later editors, printers, and excavators remain named where they appear.

Context

A British tour, a secretary a studiis/ab epistulis, and later gossip already structure the file. HA is not a tape. A dismissal is not unique authorship of the Lives of the Caesars’ remaining books. Named others on the file: Suetonius, Septicius Clarus, Vibia Sabina, and later HA as carrier share the heading. The public setting is the file around 0122-08-01. The instrument stays Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus. The setting of Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus is the public file around 0122-08-01. Driver political-polarization is attached because the significance names a mechanism from this act, not because a standing list needed coverage.

Why it matters

Worsening polarisation path: a palace household purge. Medium confidence on the charge-sheet. Welfare reading worsening. The attached mechanism is A dated palace purge polarised the literary-and-guard household of the British-year court. Lag to any modern indicator is not treated as zero. This path is attached because the mechanism is named from this act, not because a driver list needed coverage. The welfare reading on this path is worsening.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Hadrian

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.32 · verified

    Later HA reports a dismissal of the ab epistulis Suetonius and praetorian prefect Septicius for court-protocol offences regarding Sabina. The court shock is received; details are thin.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactHadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus
    2. strengthensDriverPolitical Polarization
    3. weakensIndicators (2)Having a say in government
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.3 · Effect from 1 August 122 · verified

    A dated palace purge polarised the literary-and-guard household of the British-year court.

    • Having a say in government

      via Political Polarization

      Worse

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.14 (weight 0.3 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Rule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score

      via Political Polarization

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.14 (weight 0.3 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      43.9 Score · 43.9 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      26 readings, 1996–2024: rose from 43 Score to 43.9 Score.

      Normal is zero · any amount = worse

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Britannica — Suetonius, dismissalEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Britannica — HadrianEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Britannica’s Hadrian and Suetonius lives independently record a 122 dismissal as a court event. Official: Britannica — Hadrian, Sabina and the dismissal of Suetonius (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hadrian (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent: Britannica — Suetonius, dismissal (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suetonius (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). The two URLs are different pages. Where the carrier is a later edition or a received narrative, that limit is stated rather than upgraded to an autograph. Official carrier: Britannica — Hadrian, Sabina and the dismissal of Suetonius (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hadrian (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent carrier: Britannica — Suetonius, dismissal (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suetonius (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Established: a received 122 dismissal of Suetonius and Septicius. Not established: a unique recovered protocol minute. Established: a sourced public record of Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus under 0122-08-01.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Mixed effects of Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus are separate paths.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Shared responsibility is part of Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus. Naming Hadrian does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 0122-08-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorHadrian
  2. contributed toFactHadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus
  3. strengthensDriverPolitical Polarization
  4. weakensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Hadrian dismisses Suetonius and the prefect Septicius Clarus. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/had-suetonius-dismissal-122

https://factrail.ai/facts/had-suetonius-dismissal-122

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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