Histories

Tacitus (Cornelius), the famous Roman historian, was born in 55, 56 or 57 CE and lived to about 120. He became an orator and married a daughter of Julius Agricola in 77, before Agricola went to Britain. Tacitus served as quaestor in 81 or 82, was a senator under the Flavian emperors, and a praetor in 88. After a four-year absence, he experienced the terrors of Emperor Domitian's last years and turned to historical writing. He was a consul in 97 and, together with his close friend Pliny the Younger, successfully prosecuted Marius Priscus.

Works:

(i) Life and Character of Agricola, written in 97–98, is specially interesting because of Agricola's career in Britain.

(ii) Germania (98–99) provides an equally important description of the geography, anthropology, products, institutions, and social life, as well as the tribes of the Germans as known to the Romans.

(iii) Dialogue on Oratory (Dialogus), of unknown date, is a lively conversation about the decline of oratory and education.

(iv) Histories (probably issued in parts from 105 onwards) is a great work originally consisting of at least twelve books covering the period 69–96 CE, but only Books I–IV and part of Book V survive, detailing the dramatic years 69–70.

(v) Annals, Tacitus's other great work, originally covered the period 14–68 CE (Emperors Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, Nero) and was published between 115 and about 120. Of the at least sixteen books, Books I–IV (covering the years 14–28), a bit of Book V, all of Book VI (31–37), part of Book XI (from 47), Books XII–XV and part of Book XVI (to 66) survive.

Tacitus is renowned for his development of a pregnant concise style, character study, and psychological analysis, and for the often terrible story which he brilliantly tells. As a historian of the early Roman empire, he is paramount.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Tacitus is in five volumes.