Publius Cornelius Tacitus , known simply as Tacitus ( / ˈ t æ s ɪ t ə s / TAS -it-əs , Latin: [ˈtakɪtʊs] ; c. AD 56 – c. 120 ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
91-729: The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals (Latin: Annales ) and the Histories (Latin: Historiae )—examine the reigns of the emperors Tiberius , Claudius , Nero , and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus (14 AD) to the death of Domitian (96 AD), although there are substantial lacunae in
182-790: A "product of faulty ethnography" and see the split of Gallia Comata into three provinces as an attempt to construct a more efficient government, as opposed to a cultural division. Successive Roman emperors struck a balance between Romanizing the people of Gallia Belgica and allowing pre-existing culture to survive. The Romans divided the province into four civitates , corresponding generally to ancient tribal boundaries. The capital cities of these districts included modern Cassel (replaced by Tournai as Menapian civitas ), Bavay (replaced by Cambrai as Nervian civitas ), Thérouanne , Arras , Saint-Quentin , Soissons , Reims , Beauvais , Amiens , Tongeren , Trier , Toul and Metz . These civitates were in turn were divided into smaller units, pagi,
273-525: A classical ethnographic tradition which includes authors such as Herodotus and Julius Caesar . The book begins (chapters 1–27) with a description of the lands, laws, and customs of the various tribes. Later chapters focus on descriptions of particular tribes, beginning with those who lived closest to the Roman empire, and ending with a description of those who lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea , such as
364-609: A friend of da Strada, who is also credited with their discovery at Monte Cassino. Regardless of whether the Monte Cassino manuscripts were moved to Florence by Boccaccio or da Strada, Boccaccio made use of the Annals when he wrote Commento di Dante c. 1374 (before the birth of Poggio Bracciolini), giving an account of Seneca 's death directly based on the Tacitean account in Annals book 15 . Francis Newton states that it
455-473: A key source for modern understanding of the history of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Tiberius in AD 14 to the end of the reign of Nero , in AD 68. Tacitus wrote the Annals in at least 16 books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11 and 16 are missing. The period covered by the Histories (written before the Annals ) starts at the beginning of the year AD 69, i.e. six months after
546-561: A member of the priestly college in charge of the Sibylline Books and the Secular Games . He gained acclaim as a lawyer and as an orator ; his skill in public speaking ironically counterpoints his cognomen , Tacitus ("silent"). He served in the provinces from c. 89 to c. 93 , either in command of a legion or in a civilian post. He and his property survived Domitian 's reign of terror (81–96), but
637-593: A scrupulous historian who paid careful attention to his sources. Annals (Tacitus) The Annals ( Latin : Annales ) by Roman historian and senator Tacitus is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero , the years AD 14–68. The Annals are an important source for modern understanding of the history of the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD. Tacitus' final work, modern historians generally consider it his magnum opus which historian Ronald Mellor says represents
728-539: A solid basis for his work. Although Tacitus refers to part of his work as "my annals", the title of the work Annals used today was not assigned by Tacitus himself, but derives from its year-by-year structure. The name of the current manuscript seems to be "Books of History from the Death of the Divine Augustus" ( Ab Excessu divi Augusti Historiarum Libri ). The Annals was Tacitus' final work and provides
819-633: A term that became the French word "pays". Roman government was run by Concilia in Reims or Trier . Additionally, local notables from Gallia Belgica were required to participate in a festival in Lugdunum (modern Lyon ), which typically celebrated or worshipped the emperor's genius . The gradual adoption of Romanized names by local elites and the Romanization of laws under local authority demonstrate
910-563: Is also mentioned briefly in The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe , volume VI, chapter VIII. Gallia Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul , in what is today primarily northern France , Belgium , and Luxembourg , along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany . Before the Roman province came into existence in about 50 BC,
1001-441: Is dedicated to Fabius Iustus, a consul in 102 AD. Tacitus's writings are known for their dense prose that seldom glosses the facts, in contrast to the style of some of his contemporaries, such as Plutarch . When he writes about a near defeat of the Roman army in Annals I,63, he does so with brevity of description rather than embellishment. In most of his writings, he keeps to a chronological narrative order, only seldom outlining
SECTION 10
#17327660670411092-582: Is likely that Annals 11–16 were in Monte Cassino during the first half of the rule of Abbot Desiderius (1058–1087) who later became Pope Victor III . Annals 1–6 were then independently discovered at Corvey Abbey in Germany in 1508 by Giovanni Angelo Arcimboldi , afterwards Archbishop of Milan, and were first published in Rome in 1515 by Beroaldus , by order of Pope Leo X , who afterwards deposited
1183-521: Is remarkable that they survived at all. In an early chapter of the Agricola , Tacitus asserts that he wishes to speak about the years of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In the Histories the scope has changed; Tacitus says that he will deal with the age of Nerva and Trajan at a later time. Instead, he will cover the period from the civil wars of the Year of the Four Emperors and end with the despotism of
1274-586: Is the later historian whose work most closely approaches him in style. Tacitus makes use of the official sources of the Roman state: the Acta Senatus (the minutes of the sessions of the Senate) and the Acta Diurna (a collection of the acts of the government and news of the court and capital). He also read collections of emperors' speeches, such as those of Tiberius and Claudius. He is generally seen as
1365-450: Is uncertainty about when Tacitus wrote Dialogus de oratoribus . Many characteristics set it apart from the other works of Tacitus, so that its authenticity has at various times been questioned. It is likely to be early work, indebted to the author's rhetorical training, since its style imitates that of the foremost Roman orator Cicero . It lacks (for example) the incongruities that are typical of his mature historical works. The Dialogus
1456-467: Is well known: inde consilium mihi ... tradere ... sine ira et studio, quorum causas procul habeo. my purpose is ... to relate ... without either anger or zeal, motives from which I am far removed. There has been much scholarly discussion about Tacitus's "neutrality". Throughout his writing, he is preoccupied with the balance of power between the Senate and the emperors , and the increasing corruption of
1547-465: The Ciceronian period , where sentences were usually the length of a paragraph and artfully constructed with nested pairs of carefully matched sonorous phrases, this is short and to the point. But it is also very individual. Note the three different ways of saying and in the first line ( -que , et , ac ), and especially the matched second and third lines. They are parallel in sense but not in sound;
1638-519: The Fenni . Tacitus had written a similar, albeit shorter, piece in his Agricola (chapters 10–13). The Agricola (written c. 98 ) recounts the life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general and Tacitus's father-in-law; it also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient Britain . As in the Germania , Tacitus favorably contrasts the liberty of the native Britons with
1729-621: The First Jewish–Roman War . His Annals are of interest for providing an early account of the persecution of Christians and one of the earliest extra-Biblical references to the crucifixion of Jesus . Details about the personal life of Tacitus are scarce. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout his work, the letters of his friend and admirer Pliny the Younger , and an inscription found at Mylasa in Caria . Tacitus
1820-551: The Flavians . Only the first four books and twenty-six chapters of the fifth book survive, covering the year 69 and the first part of 70. The work is believed to have continued up to the death of Domitian on September 18, 96. The fifth book contains—as a prelude to the account of Titus's suppression of the First Jewish–Roman War —a short ethnographic survey of the ancient Jews , and it is an invaluable record of Roman attitudes towards them. The Annals , Tacitus's final work, covers
1911-497: The Histories before the Annals , the events in the Annals precede the Histories ; together they form a continuous narrative from the death of Augustus (14) to the death of Domitian (96). Though most has been lost, what remains is an invaluable record of the era. The first half of the Annals survived in a single manuscript from Corvey Abbey in Germany, and the second half in a single manuscript from Monte Cassino in Italy; it
SECTION 20
#17327660670412002-509: The Histories . The second half of book 16 is missing, ending with the events of 66. It is not known whether Tacitus completed the work; he died before he could complete his planned histories of Nerva and Trajan, and no record survives of the work on Augustus and the beginnings of the Roman Empire , with which he had planned to finish his work. The Annals is one of the earliest secular historical records to mention Jesus of Nazareth , which Tacitus does in connection with Nero's persecution of
2093-789: The Low Countries as the Latin language name of the entire territory until the modern period. In the 1500s, the Seventeen Provinces were then divided into the independent Belgica Foederata or the federal Dutch Republic and the Belgica Regia or the royal Southern Netherlands under the Habsburgian crown . Belgica Foederata continued to be used from 1581 up to the French Revolution. Even after that,
2184-637: The Nervians were either burnt down (Nemetacum ( Arras )) or had to be rebuilt in the last quarter of the second century, Colonia Morinorum ( Thérouanne ) and Bagacum Nerviorum ( Bavay ). With the Crisis of the Third Century and the partition of the Empire , Roman control over Gaul deteriorated in the 3rd century. In 260, Postumus became emperor of a breakaway Gallic Empire . He proved able to stop
2275-537: The Principate . He says again that Augustus gave and warranted peace to the state after years of civil war, but on the other hand he shows us the dark side of life under the Caesars . The history of the beginning of the principate is also the history of the end of the political freedom that the senatorial aristocracy, which Tacitus viewed as morally decadent, corrupt, and servile towards the emperor, had enjoyed during
2366-611: The Scheldt river) a part of which ( Ile de France ), from the middle of the 10th century became the kernel of modern France , and Middle Francia which was succeeded by Lotharingia . Though often presented as the dissolution of the Frankish empire, it was in fact the continued adherence to Salic patrimony . Lotharingia was divided in 870 by the Treaty of Meerssen under West and East Francia. The name Belgica continued to be used in
2457-668: The Western Roman Empire had already collapsed in Galla Belgica for some time the Gallo-Roman " Kingdom of Soissons " (457–486) managed to maintain control over the area around Soissons . The Franks however emerged victorious and Belgica Secunda in the 5th century became the center of Clovis ' Merovingian kingdom. During the 8th century in the Carolingian Empire the former area of Gallia Belgica
2548-401: The famous general Agricola . Little is known of their domestic life, save that Tacitus loved hunting and the outdoors. He started his career (probably the latus clavus , mark of the senator) under Vespasian (r. 69–79), but entered political life as a quaestor in 81 or 82 under Titus . He advanced steadily through the cursus honorum , becoming praetor in 88 and a quindecimvir ,
2639-481: The first of his family to do so. During his tenure, he reached the height of his fame as an orator when he delivered the funeral oration for the famous veteran soldier Lucius Verginius Rufus . In the following year, he wrote and published the Agricola and Germania , foreshadowing the literary endeavors that would occupy him until his death. Afterward, he absented himself from public life, but returned during Trajan 's reign (98–117). In 100, he and his friend Pliny
2730-624: The proscriptions which took place at the end of the Republic , and Tacitus makes it clear that he owed his rank to the Flavian emperors ( Hist. 1.1 ). The claim that he was descended from a freedman is derived from a speech in his writings which asserts that many senators and knights were descended from freedmen ( Ann. 13.27 ), but this is generally disputed. In his article on Tacitus in Pauly-Wissowa , I. Borzsak had conjectured that
2821-453: The "pinnacle of Roman historical writing". Tacitus' Histories and Annals together amounted to 30 books, although some scholars disagree about which work to assign some books to, traditionally 14 are assigned to Histories and 16 to Annals . Of the 30 books referred to by Jerome about half have survived. Modern scholars believe that as a Roman senator , Tacitus had access to Acta Senatus —the Roman senate's records—which provided
Tacitus - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-431: The 18th century, at least five attempts have been made to challenge the authenticity of the Annals as having been written by someone other than Tacitus, Voltaire 's criticism being perhaps the first. Voltaire was generally critical of Tacitus and said that Tacitus did not comply with the standards for providing a historical background to civilization. In 1878, John Wilson Ross and, in 1890, Polydore Hochart suggested that
3003-690: The Belgae were separated from the Celtic Gauls to their south by "language, custom and laws" ( lingua, institutis, legibus ) but he did not go into detail, except to mention that he learnt from his contacts that the Belgae had some ancestry from east of the Rhine, which he referred to as Germania. Indeed, the Belgian tribes closest to the Rhine he distinguished as the Germani cisrhenani . ( Strabo stated that
3094-609: The Christians . Tacitus wrote three works with a more limited scope: Agricola , a biography of his father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola; the Germania , a monograph on the lands and tribes of barbarian Germania; and the Dialogus , a dialogue on the art of rhetoric. The Germania ( Latin title: De Origine et situ Germanorum ) is an ethnographic work on the Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire. The Germania fits within
3185-566: The Cornelius Tacitus who served as procurator of Belgica and Germania ; Pliny the Elder mentions that Cornelius had a son who aged rapidly ( NH 7.76 ), which implies an early death. There is no mention of Tacitus's suffering such a condition, but it is possible that this refers to a brother—if Cornelius was indeed his father. The friendship between the younger Pliny and Tacitus leads some scholars to conclude that they were both
3276-631: The Moselle valley. They subsequently destroyed large parts of Gallia Belgica, before eventually moving on to Hispania (present-day Spain ). This invasion and the accompanying widespread destruction broke the backbone of Roman power in at least the northern part of Gallia Belgica. After this invasion the Franks were able to conquer valuable agricultural land south of the Via Belgica , the very important main road between Cologne and Boulogne, that had been
3367-511: The Roman province of Asia in western Anatolia , recorded in the inscription found at Mylasa mentioned above. A passage in the Annals fixes 116 as the terminus post quem of his death, which may have been as late as 125 or even 130. It seems that he survived both Pliny (died c. 113 ) and Trajan (died 117). It remains unknown whether Tacitus had any children. The Augustan History reports that Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus (r. 275–276) claimed him for an ancestor and provided for
3458-437: The Younger prosecuted Marius Priscus [ la ] ( proconsul of Africa) for corruption. Priscus was found guilty and sent into exile; Pliny wrote a few days later that Tacitus had spoken "with all the majesty which characterizes his usual style of oratory". A lengthy absence from politics and law followed while he wrote the Histories and the Annals . In 112 to 113, he held the highest civilian governorship, that of
3549-700: The backbone of Roman defense strategy between 260 and 406. In 452, a major battle was fought at the Catalaunian fields (between the Seine and the Moselle). A coalition of Romans, Visigoths and Franks fought an army led by the legendary Hunnic leader Attila . The outcome of this battle itself was inconclusive, but as a consequence of this battle the Huns and their allies left the area of Gallia Belgica, where they had plundered nearly all major cities, except Paris. After
3640-403: The best portrait is that of Tiberius, portrayed in an indirect way, painted progressively during the course of a narrative, with observations and commentary along the way filling in details. Tacitus portrays both Tiberius and Nero as tyrants who caused fear in their subjects. But while he views Tiberius as someone who had once been a great man, Tacitus considers Nero as simply despicable. Since
3731-604: The bigger picture, leaving the readers to construct that picture for themselves. Nonetheless, where he does use broad strokes, for example, in the opening paragraphs of the Annals , he uses a few condensed phrases which take the reader to the heart of the story. Tacitus's historical style owes some debt to Sallust . His historiography offers penetrating—often pessimistic—insights into the psychology of power politics, blending straightforward descriptions of events, moral lessons, and tightly focused dramatic accounts. Tacitus's own declaration regarding his approach to history ( Annals I,1)
Tacitus - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-422: The books to each work, traditionally fourteen are assigned to Histories and sixteen to the Annals . Tacitus' friend Pliny referred to "your histories" when writing to him about his earlier work. Although Tacitus refers to part of his work as "my annals", the title of the work Annals used today was not assigned by Tacitus himself, but derives from its year-by-year structure. Of the sixteen books in Annals ,
3913-400: The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a spurious interjection, added later, and not written by Tacitus. In Jorge Luis Borges ' short story The Garden of Forking Paths , when Yu Tsun, the main character, takes the train to carry out his final mission in the fictitious town of Ashgrove, among the few persons he encounters on the train is a young man fervently reading Tacitus’ Annals . Tacitus
4004-582: The death of Nero and continues to the death of Domitian in 96. It is not known when Tacitus began writing the Annals, but he was well into writing it by AD 116. Modern scholars believe that as a senator, Tacitus had access to Acta Senatus , the Roman senate's records, thus providing a solid basis for his work. Together the Histories and the Annals amounted to 30 books. These thirty books are referred to by Saint Jerome , and about half of them have survived. Although some scholars differ on how to assign
4095-549: The differences between the Celts and Belgae, in language, politics and way of life was a small one. ) Modern historians interpret Caesar and the archaeological evidence as indicating that the core of the Belgian alliance was in the present-day northernmost corner of France; the Suessiones , Viromandui and Ambiani as well perhaps as some of their neighbours who lived in the area, Caesar identified as Belgium or Belgica. These were
4186-399: The divisions on what he perceived to be distinctions in language, race and community – Gallia Belgica was meant to be a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples. The capital of this territory was Reims , according to the geographer Strabo, though later the capital moved to modern-day Trier . The date of this move is uncertain. Modern historians however view the term 'Gaul' and its subdivisions as
4277-515: The dying looks of Mauricus and Rusticus , before we were steeped in Senecio 's innocent blood. Even Nero turned his eyes away, and did not gaze upon the atrocities which he ordered; with Domitian it was the chief part of our miseries to see and to be seen, to know that our sighs were being recorded... From his seat in the Senate , he became suffect consul in 97 during the reign of Nerva , being
4368-448: The effectiveness of this concilium Galliarum . With that said, the concept and community of Gallia Belgica did not predate the Roman province, but developed from it. During the 1st century AD (estimated date 90 AD), the provinces of Gaul were restructured. Emperor Domitian reorganized the provinces in order to separate the militarized zones of the Rhine from the civilian populations of the region. The northeastern part of Gallia Belgica
4459-399: The empire. Nonetheless, the image he builds of Tiberius throughout the first six books of the Annals is neither exclusively bleak nor approving: most scholars view the image of Tiberius as predominantly positive in the first books, and predominantly negative after the intrigues of Sejanus . The entrance of Tiberius in the first chapters of the first book is dominated by the hypocrisy of
4550-533: The experience left him jaded and perhaps ashamed at his own complicity, instilling in him the hatred of tyranny evident in his works. The Agricola , chs. 44 – 45 , is illustrative: Agricola was spared those later years during which Domitian, leaving now no interval or breathing space of time, but, as it were, with one continuous blow, drained the life-blood of the Commonwealth... It was not long before our hands dragged Helvidius to prison, before we gazed on
4641-483: The former province of Gallia Belgica and start the Merovingian kingdom , the first immediate forerunner state of Western civilization. Emperor Diocletian restructured the provinces around 300, and split Belgica into two provinces: Belgica Prima and Belgica Secunda. Belgica Prima had Augusta Treverorum (Trier) as its main city, and consisted of the eastern part. The border between Belgica Prima and Belgica Secunda
SECTION 50
#17327660670414732-432: The frivolous prosecutions which resulted ( Annals , 1.72). Elsewhere ( Annals 4.64–66) he compares Tiberius's public distribution of fire relief to his failure to stop the perversions and abuses of justice which he had begun. Although this kind of insight has earned him praise, he has also been criticized for ignoring the larger context. Tacitus owes most, both in language and in method, to Sallust, and Ammianus Marcellinus
4823-480: The governing classes of Rome as they adjusted to the ever-growing wealth and power of the empire. In Tacitus's view, senators squandered their cultural inheritance—that of free speech —to placate their (rarely benign) emperor. Tacitus noted the increasing dependence of the emperor on the goodwill of his armies. The Julio-Claudians eventually gave way to generals, who followed Julius Caesar (and Sulla and Pompey ) in recognizing that military might could secure them
4914-401: The historian was related to Thrasea Paetus and Etruscan family of Caecinii , about whom he spoke very highly. Furthermore, some later Caecinii bore cognomen Tacitus, which also could indicate some sort of relationship. It had been suggested that the historian's mother was a daughter of Aulus Caecina Paetus , suffect consul of 37, and sister of Arria, wife of Thrasea. His father may have been
5005-505: The imperial system (see Tacitean studies , Black vs. Red Tacitists). His Latin style is highly praised. His style, although it has a grandeur and eloquence (thanks to Tacitus's education in rhetoric), is extremely concise, even epigrammatic —the sentences are rarely flowing or beautiful, but their point is always clear. The style has been both derided as "harsh, unpleasant, and thorny" and praised as "grave, concise, and pithily eloquent". A passage of Annals 1.1 , where Tacitus laments
5096-634: The incursions from the Franks. Only in 274 was Roman control restored by the new emperor Aurelian in the Battle of Châlons . The cost of this defeat in the long run proved very high indeed. With the Gallic army defeated and not returning to the Rhine border , the Franks overran the neighbouring province of Germania Inferior . The Rhineland (to the Ripuarian Franks ) and the area between the Rhine and
5187-580: The leaders of the initial military alliance he confronted, and they were also more economically advanced (and therefore less "Germanic" according to Caesar's way of seeing things) than many of their more northerly allies such as the Nervii and Germani Cisrhenani. Apart from the southern Remi, all the Belgic tribes allied against the Romans, angry at the Roman decision to garrison legions in their territory during
5278-541: The main road between Boulogne and Cologne, present-day South Holland, Zeeland, Flanders, Brabant and Limburg, the last three in both the present-day Netherlands and Belgium (to the Salian Franks ) were de facto lost forever for the Roman empire. This gave the Salian Franks a base from which they could expand some 130 years later, beginning after the disastrous Rhine crossing in 406, to conquer the whole area of
5369-609: The manuscript in the Medicean Library in Florence. In Donna Leon 's third Commissario Brunetti novel Dressed for Death (1994), the protagonist reads Tacitus' Annals in his spare time in the evenings, and various references to that material are made throughout the novel. In Mikhail Bulgakov 's The Master and Margarita Tacitus’ Annals is referenced, as the MASSOLIT editor Berlioz asserts that its mention of
5460-466: The manuscripts containing the Annals goes back to the Renaissance . While Bracciolini had discovered three minor works at Hersfeld Abbey in Germany in 1425, Zanobi da Strada (who died in 1361) had probably earlier discovered Annals 11–16 at Monte Cassino where he lived for some time. The copies of Annals at Monte Cassino were probably moved to Florence by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375),
5551-433: The motives of the characters, often with penetrating insight—though it is questionable how much of his insight is correct, and how much is convincing only because of his rhetorical skill. He is at his best when exposing hypocrisy and dissimulation; for example, he follows a narrative recounting Tiberius's refusal of the title pater patriae by recalling the institution of a law forbidding any "treasonous" speech or writings—and
SECTION 60
#17327660670415642-493: The new emperor and his courtiers. In the later books, some respect is evident for the cleverness of the old emperor in securing his position. In general, Tacitus does not fear to praise and to criticize the same person, often noting what he takes to be their more admirable and less admirable properties. One of Tacitus's hallmarks is refraining from conclusively taking sides for or against persons he describes, which has led some to interpret his works as both supporting and rejecting
5733-509: The north and east it stretched all the way to the Rhine . The official Roman province of this name was later created by emperor Augustus in 22 BC, and named after the Belgae , as the largest tribal confederation in the area. However, it also included the territories of the Treveri , Mediomatrici , Leuci , Sequani , and others who Caesar did not explictly designate as Belgic. The province
5824-601: The offspring of wealthy provincial families. The province of his birth remains unknown, though various conjectures suggest Gallia Belgica , Gallia Narbonensis , or Northern Italy . His marriage to the daughter of Narbonensian senator Gnaeus Julius Agricola implies that he came from Gallia Narbonensis. Tacitus's dedication to Lucius Fabius Justus in the Dialogus may indicate a connection with Spain, and his friendship with Pliny suggests origins in northern Italy. No evidence exists, however, that Pliny's friends from northern Italy knew Tacitus, nor do Pliny's letters hint that
5915-457: The pairs of words ending " -entibus … -is " are crossed over in a way that deliberately breaks the Ciceronian conventions—which one would, however, need to be acquainted with to see the novelty of Tacitus's style. Some readers, then and now, find this teasing of their expectations merely irritating. Others find the deliberate discord, playing against the evident parallelism of the two lines, stimulating and intriguing. His historical works focus on
6006-409: The period from the death of Augustus in AD 14. He wrote at least sixteen books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11, and 16 are missing. Book 6 ends with the death of Tiberius , and books 7–12 presumably covered the reigns of Caligula and Claudius . The remaining books cover the reign of Nero, perhaps until his death in June 68 or until the end of that year to connect with
6097-417: The political power in Rome. ( Hist. 1.4 ) Welcome as the death of Nero had been in the first burst of joy, yet it had not only roused various emotions in Rome, among the Senators, the people, or the soldiery of the capital, it had also excited all the legions and their generals; for now had been divulged that secret of the empire, that emperors could be made elsewhere than at Rome. Tacitus's political career
6188-423: The preservation of his works, but this story may be fraudulent, like much of the Augustan History . Five works ascribed to Tacitus have survived (albeit with gaps), the most substantial of which are the Annals and the Histories . This canon (with approximate dates) consists of: The Annals and the Histories , published separately, were meant to form a single edition of thirty books. Although Tacitus wrote
6279-406: The region was conquered by Julius Caesar during his Gallic Wars . His report, the Commentarii de Bello Gallico , described Belgic Gaul as one of the three parts of Gaul (Tres Galliæ), the other two being Gallia Aquitania and Gallia Lugdunensis . Belgica stretched from the Marne and Seine rivers, which Caesar described as a cultural boundary between the Belgae and the Celtic Gauls . In
6370-415: The reign of Nero and Book 16 cuts off in the middle of the year AD 66. This leaves the material that would have covered the final two years of Nero's reign lost. Tacitus documented a Roman imperial system of government. Tacitus chose to start his work with the death of Augustus Caesar in AD 14, and his succession by Tiberius . As in the Histories , Tacitus maintains his thesis of the necessity of
6461-452: The reign of Tiberius takes up six books, of which only Book 5 is missing. These books are neatly divided into two sets of three, corresponding to the change in the nature of the political climate during the period. The next six books are devoted to the reigns of Caligula and Claudius . Books 7 through 10 are missing. Books 11 and 12 cover the period from the treachery of Messalina to the end of Claudius' reign. The final four books cover
6552-463: The republic. During Nero's reign there had been a widespread diffusion of literary works in favor of this suicidal exitus illustrium virorum ("end of the illustrious men"). Again, as in his Agricola , Tacitus is opposed to those who chose useless martyrdom through vain suicides. In the Annals , Tacitus further improved the style of portraiture that he had used so well in the Historiae . Perhaps
6643-468: The respective northern and northwestern coast of present-day Netherlands and Germany . The attack occurred in the drainage basin of the river Scheldt (present-day Flanders and Hainaut ). Archaeologists have found evidence that large farms near Tournai and the village Velzeke (near Ghent ) had to be abandoned. Further the capitals in the areas of the former tribes of the Atrebates , Morini and
6734-526: The south. The newer Gallia Belgica included the cities of Camaracum ( Cambrai ), Nemetacum ( Arras ), Samarobriva ( Amiens ), Durocortorum ( Reims ), Dividorum ( Metz ) and Augusta Treverorum ( Trier ). In 173, the later emperor Didius Julianus , then governor of Gallia Belgica, had to repel a serious invasion of the Chauci , a Germanic tribe that lived along the shores of the Wadden Sea at
6825-746: The state of the historiography regarding the last four emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , illustrates his style: "The histories of Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent hatred", or in a word-for-word translation: Tiberiī Gāīque et Claudiī ac Nerōnis rēs flōrentibus ipsīs—ob metum—falsae, postquam occiderant—recentibus ōdiīs—compositae sunt. Tiberius's, Gaius's and Claudius's as well as Nero's acts while flourishing themselves—out of fear—counterfeited, after they came to fall—resulting from new-found hate—related are. Compared to
6916-659: The surviving texts. Tacitus's other writings discuss oratory (in dialogue format, see Dialogus de oratoribus ), Germania (in De origine et situ Germanorum ), and the life of his father-in-law, Agricola (the general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain ), mainly focusing on his campaign in Britannia ( De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae ). Tacitus's Histories offers insights into Roman attitudes towards Jews , descriptions of Jewish customs, and context for
7007-472: The tribes did he risk conventional battle. The tribes fell in a piecemeal fashion and Caesar claimed to offer lenient terms to the defeated, including Roman protection from the threat of surrounding tribes. Most tribes agreed to the conditions. A series of uprisings followed the 57 BC conquest. The largest revolt was led by the Bellovaci in 52 BC, after the defeat of Vercingetorix . During this rebellion, it
7098-464: The two men had a common background. Pliny Book 9, Letter 23, reports that when asked whether he was Italian or provincial, he gave an unclear answer and so was asked whether he was Tacitus or Pliny. Since Pliny was from Italy, some infer that Tacitus was from the provinces, probably Gallia Narbonensis. His ancestry, his skill in oratory, and his sympathetic depiction of barbarians who resisted Roman rule (e.g., Ann. 2.9 ) have led some to suggest that he
7189-458: The tyranny and corruption of the Empire; the book also contains eloquent polemics against the greed of Rome, one of which, that Tacitus claims is from a speech by Calgacus , ends by asserting, Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. ("To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace."—Oxford Revised Translation). There
7280-402: The upper Meuse ). The capital of Belgica Prima, Trier , became an important late western Roman capital. In 57 BC, Julius Caesar led the conquest of northern Gaul, and already specified that the part to the north of the Seine and Marne rivers was inhabited by a people or alliance known as the Belgae . This definition became the basis of the later Roman province of Belgica. Caesar said that
7371-482: The whole of the Annals had been forged by the Italian scholar Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459). According to Robert Van Voorst this was an "extreme hypothesis" which never gained a following among modern scholars. Voorst, however, does not address any of Ross' objections regarding numerous purported historical inaccuracies in the Annals, but only faults Hochart on a few points in a footnote. The provenance of
7462-457: The winter. At the beginning of the conflict, Caesar reported the allies' combined strength at 288,000, led by the Suessione king, Galba . Due to the Belgic coalition's size and reputation for uncommon bravery, Caesar avoided meeting the combined forces of the tribes in battle. Instead, he used cavalry to skirmish with smaller contingents of tribesmen. Only when Caesar managed to isolate one of
7553-429: Was a Celt . This belief stems from the fact that the Celts who had occupied Gaul prior to the Roman invasion were famous for their skill in oratory and had been subjugated by Rome. As a young man, Tacitus studied rhetoric in Rome to prepare for a career in law and politics; like Pliny, he may have studied under Quintilian ( c. 35 AD – c. 100 ). In 77 or 78, he married Julia Agricola, daughter of
7644-707: Was approximately along the Meuse . The eastern part of Gallia Belgica, especially the valley of the Moselle became very prosperous in the fourth century, particularly in the decades that Augusta Treverorum (Trier) was the capital of the Western Roman Empire . The Roman poet Ausonius wrote a famous poem on the Mosella . Around 350 Salian Franks who were already living in Batavia were settled in Texandria . Texandria
7735-414: Was born in 56 or 57 to an equestrian family. The place and date of his birth, as well as his praenomen (first name) are not known. In the letters of Sidonius Apollinaris his name is Gaius , but in the major surviving manuscript of his work his name is given as Publius . One scholar's suggestion of the name Sextus has been largely rejected. Most of the older aristocratic families failed to survive
7826-412: Was largely lived out under the emperor Domitian. His experience of the tyranny, corruption, and decadence of that era (81–96) may explain the bitterness and irony of his political analysis. He draws our attention to the dangers of power without accountability, love of power untempered by principle, and the apathy and corruption engendered by the concentration of wealth generated through trade and conquest by
7917-723: Was most likely for a large part overlapping with the area now known as the Kempen . Eventually, in 406, a large alliance among the Vandals , Alans and Suebi , under great pressure from the Huns , after first having been defeated by the Ripuarian Franks in the neighbourhood of Cologne in Germania Inferior, successfully crossed the Rhine in the neighbourhood of present-day Koblenz and entered Gallia Belgica by way of
8008-645: Was re-organised several times, first increased and later decreased in size. Diocletian brought the northeastern Civitas Tungrorum into Germania Inferior , joining the Rhineland colonies. The remaining part of Gallia Belgica was divided into Belgica Prima (in the eastern area of the Treveri, Mediomatrici and Leuci, around Luxembourg and the Ardennes), and Belgica Secunda (between the English Channel and
8099-592: Was split into Neustria (roughly Belgica Secunda, main cities Paris , Reims ) and Austrasia (roughly Belgica Prima and Germania Inferior , main cities Trier , Metz , Cologne ). After the death of Charlemagne 's son, Louis the Pious , the Carolingian Empire was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The three sons of Louis the Pious divided his territories into three kingdoms: East Francia (the forerunner of modern Germany ), West Francia (west of
8190-403: Was split off and renamed Germania Inferior , later to be reorganized and renamed as Germania Secunda . This included the eastern part of modern Belgium , the southernmost part of the modern Netherlands , and a part of modern Germany. The eastern part was split off to become Germania Superior (parts of western Germany and eastern France) and the southern border of Gallia Belgica was extended to
8281-571: Was the Belgae who avoided direct conflict. They harassed the Roman legions, led personally by Caesar, with cavalry detachments and archers. The rebellion was put down after a Bellovaci ambush of the Romans failed. The revolting party was slaughtered. Following a census of the region in 27 BC, Augustus ordered a restructuring of the provinces in Gaul. Therefore, in 22 BC, Marcus Agrippa split Gaul (or Gallia Comata) into three regions ( Gallia Aquitania , Gallia Lugdunensis and Gallia Belgica). Agrippa made
#40959