Annals and Histories: Introduction by Robin Lane Fox

By Tacitus and Cornelius Tacitus

Book Overview

A wholly revised and updated translated of the complete historical works of the greatest chronicler of the Roman Empire, presented in a fine hardcover edition.

A brilliant narrator and a master stylist, Cornelius Tacitus served as administrator and senator, a career that gave him an intimate view of the empire at its highest levels, and of the dramatic, violent, and often bloody events of the first century. In the Annals, he writes about Augustus Caesar's death and observes the inner workings of the courts of the emperors Tiberius and Nero. In the Histories, he describes an empire in tumult, four emperors reigning in one year, each overthrown by the next. The Agricola, a biography of Tacitus's father-in-law, Julius Agricola--the most celebrated governor of Roman Britain--is the first detailed account of the island that would eventually rule over a quarter of the earth. And in the Germania, the famed warrior-barbarians of ancient Germany come richly to life.

Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Everyman's Library Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307267504
• ISBN13: 9780307267504
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Everyman's Library
• Length: 888 Pages
• Weight: 1.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 5.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Definitive Primary Source On the History Of Imperial Roman

I read this book for a graduate course in Roman history. It is an indispensable primary source for students of Roman history. On the first page of his Annals of Imperial Rome, Tacitus wrote that Octavian "seduced the army with bonuses, and his cheap food policy was successful bait for civilians." Tacitus' description of Augustus' transformation of Rome from a republic into an empire is most illuminating as well. "Upper-class survivors found that slavish obedience was the way to succeed, both politically and financially. They had profited from the revolution, and so now they liked the security of the existing arrangement better than the dangerous uncertainties of the old regime." Sir Ronald Syme relied heavily on the work of Tacitus for his cogent narrative of Octavian's rise to power as Augustus. Syme's in-depth study of Tacitus' life and work was published in 1958. Tacitus' historical accuracy was doubted for centuries and Syme made a project of re-evaluating the accuracy of his historical writings. Syme believed that Tacitus was in a unique position to write about the birth and early political history of the Imperial period in Rome due to his very active political life. Tacitus had served as a senator, consul, and proconsul of Asia. In addition, he was known to be an excellent orator in his day. In his writings, Syme believed that Tacitus provided excellent accounts of Augustus' rise to power and his career as Rome's first Emperor. Tacitus delved into the machinery of the new government, including Augustus' use of patronage as well as his many thwarted attempts at planning for his own succession. What Syme found was a man that grew very adept politically and whose political maturity rapidly developed at an early age. At eighteen, he was named as heir to Julius Caesar. He grew into the greatest Roman princeps spanning fifty-six years until his death. Augustus knew that to retain power he had to maintain the general consent of the governed. He astutely maintained order not by following the constitution or past precedent, but by using the tremendous resources at his disposal. Augustus kept the plebeians in check making sure they were fed, kept them amused with games, and constantly reminded them that he was protecting them from the oppression of the nobiles. Augustus became the "leader of a large and well organized political party as the source and fount of patronage and advancement." Recommended reading for those interested in Roman history, military history.