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68-425: The two panels, commonly referred to as Frieze A and Frieze B, were found incomplete. Frieze A survived relatively intact, but is missing a part of the left end, making it difficult to assess the exact length of the original work. Frieze B contains various broken panels, and is thought to have spanned a width of nearly 597 cm. Both reliefs measure 210 cm in height. The Cancelleria Reliefs were discovered under

136-525: 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

204-616: A different picture of the events presented in the Cancelleria Reliefs. According to both Tacitus and Suetonius, Domitian's conduct during Mucianus' interim government was less than satisfactory; they allege he was over-zealous in distributing political offices, and eager to partake in unwarranted military campaigns. The chief motivation for Vespasian's return then, was the need to restrain Domitian. The literary evidence of this time must be treated with caution however, as Tacitus

272-517: A failure, motivated by a quest for personal glory rather than necessity. The scene depicted on Frieze A seems to counter such accusations by presenting Domitian as a reluctant general, spurred on by the gods Mars , Minerva and Roma , who are pictured on the far left, to defend his home country. Other characters who appear in this scene are the Genii , or guardian spirits, of the Roman Senate and

340-564: 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

408-602: A single night's winnings at gaming. In 1517, the newly completed Palazzo was seized by Pope Leo X , who suspected Cardinal Riario of plotting to assassinate him. He gifted the palace to his cousin, Cardinal Giulio de Medici (the future Pope Clement VII ). Since Cardinal Giulio was the Vice-Chancellor of the Church, the palace became known as the Palazzo della Cancelleria thereafter, and was generally referred to just as

476-493: 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

544-482: Is known to have been heavily biased against Domitian. If, on the other hand, the Cancelleria Reliefs were indeed propaganda, they may have been intended to dispel popular rumours regarding the future emperor's conduct. Either interpretation cannot be established with certainty, although Jones favours a straightforward account in which Vespasian's reconciliation with Domitian was indeed amicable. Palazzo della Cancelleria The Palazzo della Cancelleria (Palace of

612-806: Is more probable that the form of the courtyard is derived from that of the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino , because the individuals involved in the early planning of the Palazzo had come from Urbino. The largest reception room, the Salone d'Onore on the piano nobile , has vast murals in fresco that Giorgio Vasari completed in a mere 100 days in 1547. The room is therefore named the Sala dei Cento Giorni ("Room of 100 Days"). He boasted of this accomplishment to Michelangelo , who responded "Si vede" ("It shows"). They were commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese ,

680-641: Is regarded as the earliest Renaissance palace in Rome . The Palazzo houses the Papal Chancellery, is an extraterritorial property of the Holy See , and is designated as a World Heritage Site . The Cancelleria was built for Raffaele Cardinal Riario who held the post of Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church to his powerful uncle, Pope Sixtus IV . The rumor was that the funds came from

748-634: 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

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816-530: Is smaller than his left, and his neck is too long, clearly suggesting the head was carved out of an earlier model for Domitian. Frieze B depicts Vespasian's reconciliation with Domitian following the civil war, in 69. After the death of emperor Nero in 68, war erupted among the four most influential generals in the Roman Empire—; Galba , Otho , Vitellius and Vespasian . After Galba and Otho had perished in quick succession, Vitellius' claim to

884-587: 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

952-450: 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

1020-467: 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

1088-580: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. 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

1156-465: 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;

1224-520: 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

1292-622: 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

1360-551: 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

1428-552: 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

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1496-509: 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

1564-660: The Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome in the late 1930s, and owe this name to their place of finding. It is not known who sculpted these works or which building they were intended to adorn, but it is believed the entire work was executed by the same man, on a commission by the Roman Emperor Domitian . They are now in the Vatican Museums in Rome . A number of cautious suggestions have been put forth as to

1632-406: 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 ,

1700-483: 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

1768-456: The people of Rome , and a number of soldiers. Following his assassination on September 18, 96 however, the Senate passed damnatio memoriae on Domitian's memory—his name was erased from all public records and his statues and arches were destroyed. Some of his statues were resculpted to depict the new emperor Nerva , among which was Frieze A of the Cancelleria Reliefs. Nerva's head is markedly out of proportion with his body. His right eye

1836-625: 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

1904-608: The "Cancelleria". From 1753 the vice chancellor was the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England , Scotland , France , and Ireland , Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York , the Jacobite Henry IX and I of England, Scotland, and Ireland. During the late 17th century Christina, former Queen of Sweden , resided here. During the Roman Republic of 1849 the parliament briefly sat here. In 2015, it

1972-432: The 8th century until shortly before the construction of the Palazzo was also identified. The facade, with its rhythm of flat doubled pilasters between the arch-headed windows, is Florentine in conception, comparable to Leone Battista Alberti 's Palazzo Rucellai . The overall pattern of drafted masonry , cut with smooth surfaces and grooves around the edges, is ancient Roman in origin. The bone-colored travertine of

2040-611: The Basilica is on the right side of the facade. The 5th-century basilica (its interior has been rebuilt) sits, like the Basilica di San Clemente among others, on a pagan Roman mithraeum . Excavations beneath the cortile from 1988 to 1991 revealed the 4th- and 5th-century foundations of the grand Basilica di San Lorenzo in Damaso , founded by Pope Damasus I , and one of the most important early churches of Rome . A cemetery in use from

2108-612: The Chancellery, referring to the former Apostolic Chancery of the Pope ) is a Renaissance palace in Rome , Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori , in the rione of Parione . It was built 1489–1513 by Baccio Pontelli and Antonio da Sangallo the Elder as a palace for Raffaele Cardinal Riario , Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church , and

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2176-670: 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

2244-515: 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

2312-474: The Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96), then partly recarved to feature Nerva after his accession. In the palazzo a small private theatre was installed by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni , and in the later 17th century the Palazzo became a center of musical performance in Rome. At the time when Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni lived there as vice-chancellor, the Palazzo della Cancelleria became an important center of

2380-468: The Palazzo was spolia from the nearby ancient ruins of the Theatre of Pompey , for Rome was a field of ruins, built for a city of over one million that then housed a mere 30,000. The 44 Egyptian granite columns of the inner courtyard are from the porticoes of the theatre's upper covered seating, however they were originally taken from the theatre to build the old Basilica di San Lorenzo in Damaso . It

2448-513: 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

2516-438: 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

2584-604: 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)

2652-781: The death of Augustus (14 AD) to the death of Domitian (96 AD), although there are substantial lacunae in 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

2720-515: 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

2788-399: 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

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2856-534: 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

2924-432: 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

2992-480: 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

3060-450: The grandson of Pope Paul III , who was Vice-Chancellor of the church for over fifty years. The reign of Paul III is glorified in rather absurd Mannerist style, though the frescos make an impressive ensemble. The Cancelleria Reliefs are two significant if incomplete 1st-century AD reliefs that were discovered buried at the site when the palazzo was being built. They are now in the Vatican Museums . They were apparently carved to glorify

3128-403: 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

3196-506: 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

3264-536: The life of Domitian and the history of the Flavian dynasty , which was founded by Domitian's father Vespasian in 69 AD. The content of the works has dated their creation to at least 83. As a source of historical information, the reliefs are thought to have been part of a propaganda effort to legitimize the rule of the Flavian dynasty. The style of the works has imposed some difficulties on their correct dating, however. Whereas similar bas-reliefs which can be dated to

3332-434: 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

3400-462: The musical life of Rome. Between 1694 and 1705 several oratories by Alessandro Scarlatti and various cantatas for Christmas were performed here for the first time. In 1709 Ottoboni also had a theater built on a project by the architect Filippo Juvarra , which was removed after his death (February 28, 1740). It was in this theater that at least one gathering of the Accademia degli Arcadi was held on

3468-493: 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

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3536-406: The occasion of Christmas 1712 to celebrate the child Jesus. [REDACTED] Media related to Palazzo della Cancelleria (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons Tacitus 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

3604-604: 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

3672-516: The original location of the Cancelleria Reliefs. Most likely, the sculptures decorated one of the numerous buildings erected under Domitian. Brian Jones suggests two possible locations: the Templum Divorum, which was a shrine dedicated to the military triumphs of Vespasian and Titus, or one of multiple arches which were said to have been erected under Domitian, but were torn down following his death. The Cancelleria Reliefs depict events from

3740-517: 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

3808-515: 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

3876-473: 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

3944-491: 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

4012-642: The reign of Domitian with certainty, such as from the Arch of Titus , feature a more mannered, Baroque style of sculpture, the Cancelleria Reliefs seem to have been carved in the Classical style of the Augustan period. Frieze A originally depicted Domitian as he prepared to depart for a campaign against the Chatti . Contemporary authors such as Suetonius later alleged that Domitian's military endeavours were largely

4080-747: 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

4148-494: The throne was challenged by Vespasian. Vespasian was at the time conducting the siege of the city of Jerusalem in Judaea . Rather than heading back to Rome however, he entrusted the war against Vitellius to his political ally Gaius Licinius Mucianus , while Vespasian himself gathered support in the province of Egypt . Mucianus invaded Rome on 20 December 69, and quickly defeated the forces of Vitellius. An interim administration

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4216-466: 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

4284-511: 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

4352-483: 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

4420-417: 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

4488-467: Was installed with Mucianus as acting emperor, and Domitian as representative of the Flavian family. Vespasian returned to Rome in late September 70, which is the scene historians believe to be depicted on Frieze B. The composition of the characters, with Domitian on the left, and Vespasian on the right, suggests that Domitian assures his father that Rome has been governed well in his absence, and that their relations are good. Once again, ancient authors paint

4556-412: 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

4624-497: Was the residence of retired, and now deceased, Bernard Cardinal Law , Archbishop of Boston , United States . The Palazzo della Cancelleria was the first palazzo in Rome to be erected from the ground up in the new Renaissance style. Its long facade engulfs the small Basilica di San Lorenzo in Damaso , the Cardinal's titular church , that is to its right, with the palatial front continuing straight across it. The entrance to

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