ca. 56 A.D. - 117 A.D.
Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian born around 55 A.D., shortly after Nero became emperor. He married Agricola's daughter in 77 A.D. Tacitus had a successful political career, reaching the office of praetor in 81 A.D., praetor in 88 A.D. and consul in 97 A.D. He went on to be propraetor in Asia Minor (now a section of modern Turkey) probably 112-113 A.D.
Since he was included in the innercircles of a Roman political life, his writings offer the reader good insight into the intrigues of the time. He indeed witnessed several of the events he described in Histories but also used informants. Sometimes he followed the information form the sources, sometimes he recounted rumors and sometimes he put his own slant on the stories. He seldom named his sources. This is indeed a complication for the reader as one tries to understand the personalities of the time.
Despite his obvious manipulations of time and events, his Histories do display a fair amount of accuracy as well a sit. When inwscriptions or other documentary material is available, the data in Tacitus' works seem generally authentic. His battle descriptions fit into the landscape of the sites where conflicet occurred. Being a writer however, he did embellish descriptions of people and the reader needs to keep in mind that personal prejudices may color his portrayals of the emperors in particular. He is a master of innuendo.
Tacitus's most famous work is his account of the Jews at the beginning of Book 5. This writing is often read by interested parties in Jewish history.
Tacitus wrote the most detailed early description of Germany and the Germans during his time.
Information taken from The Oxford Classical Dictionary
Tacitus, The Histories, Oxford University Press 1997, pp VII - XLI
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