135:
369:, a speech put in the mouth of Galba makes clear Tacitus' ideological and political position. Galba's pure respect for formality and lack of political realism rendered him unable to control events. In contrast, Nerva adopted Trajan, who was able to keep the legions unified, to keep the army out of imperial politics, to stop disorder among the legions, and thus to prevent rival claimants to the throne. Tacitus was sure that only the
355:. Galba, described by Tacitus as a feeble old man, had chosen a successor unable, due to his severity, to obtain the faith and the control of the troops. Nerva, instead, had consolidated his power by making a link between the throne and Trajan, who was general of the Upper Rhine legions and popular throughout the army. It is probable that Tacitus was a member of the imperial council in which Trajan was chosen to be adopted.
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The style of narration is rapid, reflecting the speed of the events. The narrative rhythm leaves no space to slow down or digress. To write effectively in this style, Tacitus had to summarize substantial information from his sources. Sometimes he skips parts; more usually he divides the story into
419:
Tacitus writes from the point of view of an aristocrat. He shows fear, mixed with disdain, for the soldiers' tumult and for the rabble of the capital. He also holds in low esteem those members of the Senate whose behavior he describes with malice, insisting upon the contrast between their public
775:
341:— each took power in quick succession. The mode of their accession showed that because imperial power was based on the support of the legions, an emperor could now be chosen not only at Rome, but anywhere in the empire where sufficient legions were amassed.
451:
of verbs and conjunctions. He uses irregular constructs and frequent changes of subject, to give variety and movement to the narration. It often happens that when a sentence seems finished, it is extended with a surprising
435:, and loose stylistic structure combine to make the characters sharp. The influence of Sallust is clear in the rest of Tacitus' style as well. Tacitus improves on the method, stressing the tension between
298:, the project has been modified: in the introduction, Tacitus says that he will deal with the age of Nerva and Trajan at a later time. Instead, he covers the period that started with the civil wars of the
468:
390:, the unification of the power in the hands of a prince was necessary to keep the peace. The prince ought not to be a tyrant, like Domitian, nor a fool, like Galba. He should be able to keep the
416:
Tacitus is a master at describing a mass of people. He knows how to portray the mass when it is calm; he knows equally how to show the threat of insurrection and panic-stricken flight.
217:
refers to these books explicitly, and about half of them have survived. Although scholars disagree on how to assign the books to each work, traditionally, fourteen are assigned to
306:. Only the first four books and the first 26 chapters of the fifth book have survived, covering the year 69 and the first part of 70. The work is believed to have continued up to
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347:, like Galba, came to the throne by senatorial designation, after the violent death of the previous emperor, Domitian. Like Galba, Nerva had to deal with a revolt of
471:, which was based on the work of Trogus. However, this interpretation is disputed, and an alternative is that Justin's style was based on the work of Tacitus.
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Tacitus skillfully shows the characters, alternating short and sharp notations with complete portraits. His technique is similar to that of
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30 years later, not long after Nerva's seizure of power, which bore similarities to the events of the year 69, when four emperors —
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Vitellius is challenged by
Vespasian in Italy. Vitellius's forces collapse, and Vitellius is murdered by Vespasian's troops.
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200:. However, the surviving portion of the work only reaches the year 70 and the very beginning of the reign of Vespasian.
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310:'s death on September 18, 96. The fifth book contains—as a prelude to the account of Titus' victory in the
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emperor) could maintain peace, the fidelity of the armies, and the cohesion of the empire.
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and like Galba, he had designated his successor by the traditional expedient of
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image and the unconfessable reality: adulation, conspiracy, and ambition. The
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referred to "your histories" when writing to
Tacitus about the earlier work.
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is a grim work; it speaks throughout of violence, dishonesty, and injustice.
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deals with the five decades before Nero, from AD 14, the reign of
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safe, while saving the prestige and the dignity of the Senate. (
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single scenes and, in this way, creates a dramatic narration.
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It has been theorized that
Tacitus' style is based on that of
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addresses the same point). Tacitus considered the rule of the
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31:
469:
Historia
Philippicae et Totius Mundi Origines et Terrae Situs
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that adds a comment, which is usually alluding or indirect.
282:, Tacitus states that he wishes to speak about the years of
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636:. Translated by Yardley, J. C. Oxford. pp. ii–xxvii.
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Batavian units of the Roman Army revolt, beginning of the
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The Annals: The Reigns of
Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero
404:
the only possible solution to the problems of Empire.
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663:: The unlikely adaptation of Trogus' world history"
62:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
441:, which connects the narrative with the past, and
314:—a short ethnographic survey of the ancient
268:The Roman Empire, 69. After the death of emperor
890:List of people mentioned in the works of Tacitus
188:, as well as the period between the rise of the
386:'s rise to power, Tacitus says that after the
27:Tacitus' history of Rome from Nero to Domitian
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521:ascends to the emperorship, is challenged by
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364:
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447:, which makes it dramatic. Tacitus loves
122:Learn how and when to remove this message
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232:By the time Tacitus had completed the
727:(Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
162:) is a Roman historical chronicle by
7:
302:and ended with the despotism of the
276:In one of the first chapters of the
60:adding citations to reliable sources
706:. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
632:Tacitus, Cornelius (12 June 2008).
609:Tacitus and the Writing of History
25:
944:History books about ancient Rome
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244:'s death, to AD 96, the end of
47:needs additional citations for
180:, a period which includes the
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657:Bartlett, Brett (July 2014).
174:
167:
949:Works about history in Latin
560:is placed in command of the
375:(the "prince", that is, the
256:, to AD 68, when Nero died.
173:, its complete form covered
780:public domain audiobook at
513:Otho loses to Vitellius at
975:
939:2nd-century books in Latin
725:Tacitus, Histories, Book I
607:Martin, Ronald H. (1981).
184:following the downfall of
959:Year of the Four Emperors
934:2nd-century history books
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363:In the first book of the
545:. Vespasian and his son
505:threatens Otho's reign.
71:"Histories" Tacitus
847:Dialogus de oratoribus
763:Quotations related to
562:First Jewish–Roman War
365:
312:First Jewish–Roman War
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240:from AD 69, following
213:amounted to 30 books.
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564:. Batavian War ends.
300:Year of Four Emperors
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182:Year of Four Emperors
144:first printed edition
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611:. pp. 104–105.
171: 100–110
56:improve this article
221:and sixteen to the
18:Historiae (Tacitus)
517:; Otho's suicide.
321:Tacitus wrote the
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225:. Tacitus' friend
178: 69–96
147:
138:First page of the
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867:Tacitus on Christ
749:Works related to
733:978-0-521-57822-6
643:978-0-19-282421-9
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402:adoptive Emperors
227:Pliny the Younger
196:and the death of
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45:This article
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895:Tacitus Trap
859:
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700:Syme, Ronald
678:. Retrieved
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54:Please help
49:verification
46:
29:
382:Discussing
377:monarchical
372:principatus
349:Praetorians
928:Categories
680:16 January
659:"Justin's
591:References
166:. Written
112:April 2012
82:newspapers
854:Histories
777:Histories
752:Histories
580:(Tacitus)
523:Vespasian
519:Vitellius
515:Bedriacum
503:Vitellius
493:Reign of
433:parataxis
422:Historiae
366:Historiae
339:Vespasian
335:Vitellius
323:Histories
296:Histories
294:. In the
290:, and of
234:Histories
219:Histories
205:Histories
194:Vespasian
160:Historiae
151:Histories
140:Histories
913:Category
840:Agricola
833:Germania
782:LibriVox
702:(1958).
571:See also
547:Domitian
485:Subject
449:ellipsis
438:gravitas
393:imperium
359:Ideology
353:adoption
308:Domitian
304:Flavians
284:Domitian
279:Agricola
254:Tiberius
246:Domitian
207:and the
198:Domitian
878:Related
818:Tacitus
765:Tacitus
723:(2003)
704:Tacitus
661:Epitome
497:, then
475:Content
467:in his
429:Sallust
164:Tacitus
142:in its
96:scholar
861:Annals
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710:
670:Histos
640:
615:
578:Annals
465:Justin
444:pathos
398:Seneca
337:, and
292:Trajan
250:Annals
223:Annals
210:Annals
192:under
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825:Works
676:: 250
666:(PDF)
558:Titus
495:Galba
408:Style
345:Nerva
327:Galba
288:Nerva
286:, of
156:Latin
103:JSTOR
89:books
729:ISBN
708:ISBN
682:2019
638:ISBN
613:ISBN
499:Otho
482:Book
454:tail
331:Otho
316:Jews
270:Nero
242:Nero
186:Nero
75:news
58:by
930::
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599:^
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