Tacitus facts

For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation).
Tacitus
Tacitus
Born Circa 56
Died Circa 117
Occupation Senator, consul, governor, historian
Genres History
Subjects History, biography, oratory
Literary movement Silver Age of Latin

Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56 – ca. 117) was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving parts of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—report about the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.

Lipsius manuscript
The title page of Justus Lipsius's 1598 edition of the complete works of Tacitus, bearing the stamps of the Bibliotheca Comunale in Empoli, Italy.

Experts believe Tacitus wrote these five works that have survived. The dates are approximate:

  • (98) De vita Iulii Agricolae (The Life of Julius Agricola)
  • (98) De origine et situ Germanorum (The Germania)
  • (102) Dialogus de oratoribus (Dialogue on Oratory)
  • (105) Historiae (Histories)
  • (117) Ab excessu divi Augusti (Annals)

Images

  • REmpire-04 Gallia Narbonensis

    Tacitus was probably born in Gallia Narbonensis.

  • MII

    Annals 15.44, in the second Medicean manuscript

  • CiceroBust

    The style of the Dialogus follows Cicero's models for Latin rhetoric.


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