Roman Historian: Tacitus

Tacitus, Roman historian. Born about 56 A.D. Died about 117 A.D.

Tacitus, one of the world's great historians, probably came from northern Italy. Little is known about his personal life, and even his full name is uncertain. In 78 A.D. he married the daughter of the Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Tacitus was a public official for many years and became known as an effective orator. He was a consul in 97 A.D. and was proconsul, or provincial governor, in Asia after 112 AD.

Tacitus' first-known work, the Dialogue on Oratory, was written about 81 A.D. and anticipated the trenchant, vigorous, yet dignified prose style that distinguished his later works. In 98 A.D., Tacitus wrote the Agricola, praising his father-in-law's achievements. The Germania, published in the same year, contrasts the indolence and luxury of Roman life with the pure and simple life of the German tribes.

Tacitus' great works were the Histories and the Annals, which he wrote between 98 A.D. and 116 A.D. They described Roman history from 14 A.D. to 96 A.D., but only portions of each work have survived from ancient times. The remaining sections of the Histories deal with the civil conflicts of 68 and 69 A.D. and with the beginning of Vespasian's reign. The parts surviving from the Annals cover major portions of the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero.

Tacitus called for a return to the ideals and virtues that had existed in the Roman Republic. His hatred of despotism was reflected in his unflattering pictures of earlier emperors, notably Tiberius. Tacitus summed up his feelings about cruelty and oppression in describing Roman conquest, saying "where they make a desert, they call it peace."