Tacitus

(noun)

(c. AD 56 – after 117), was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire.

Related Terms

Examples of Tacitus in the following topics:

  • The Flavian Dynasty

    • The ancient historians who lived through the period such as Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus and Pliny the Elder speak suspiciously well of Vespasian while condemning the emperors who came before him.
    • Tacitus admits that his status was elevated by Vespasian, Josephus identifies Vespasian as a patron and savior, and Pliny dedicated his Natural Histories to Vespasian's son, Titus.

  • Italian Trade Cities

    • Humanist scholars searched monastic libraries for ancient manuscripts and recovered Tacitus and other Latin authors.

  • Military Achievements of the Flavians

    • He fortified the coast facing Ireland, and Tacitus recalls that his father-in-law often claimed the island could be conquered with a single legion and a few auxiliaries.

  • The Rise of Christianity

    • The first recorded official persecution of Christians on behalf of the Roman Empire was in 64 CE, when, as reported by the Roman historian Tacitus, Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome.

  • The Germanic Tribes

    • West Germanic people eventually settled in central Europe and became more accustomed to agriculture, and it is the various western Germanic people that are described by Caesar and Tacitus.

  • The Last Julio-Claudian Emperors

    • However, according to Tacitus, a historian writing one generation after Nero’s rule, Nero was viewed by many Romans as compulsive and corrupt.