This collection of seminal and lively articles on the Roman historian of the early empire, Tacitus, is written by a wide range of established experts in the field. Tacitus is best known for his extraordinary historical narratives on the Roman emperors from Tiberius to Nero and the civil wars which followed the death of Nero in AD 68. The articles are designed to reflect the main trends in scholarship on Tacitus, particularly as they have developed over the last century, and to situate this Roman author in his literary and historical context. Beginning with a comprehensive introduction, Ash sets the selected scholarship in context and discusses the history of modern critical responses to Tacitus. Covering the whole of Tacitus' works (the Agricola, Germania, Dialogus, as well as the historical narratives, the Histories and the Annals), this volume also includes articles published in English for the very first time.

Tacitus' account of Nero's principate is an extraordinary piece of historical writing. His graphic narrative (including Annals XV) is one of the highlights of the greatest surviving historian of the Roman Empire. It describes how the imperial system survived Nero's flamboyant and hedonistic tenure as emperor, and includes many famous passages, from the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 to the city-wide party organised by Nero's praetorian prefect, Tigellinus, in Rome. This edition unlocks the difficulties and complexities of this challenging yet popular text for students and instructors alike. It elucidates the historical context of the work and the literary artistry of the author, as well as explaining grammatical difficulties of the Latin for students. It also includes a comprehensive introduction discussing historical, literary and stylistic issues.

This collection of seminal and lively articles on the Roman historian of the early empire, Tacitus, is written by a wide range of established experts in the field. Tacitus is best known for his extraordinary historical narratives on the Roman emperors from Tiberius to Nero and the civil wars which followed the death of Nero in AD 68. The articles are designed to reflect the main trends in scholarship on Tacitus, particularly as they have developed over the last century, and to situate this Roman author in his literary and historical context. Beginning with a comprehensive introduction, Ash sets the selected scholarship in context and discusses the history of modern critical responses to Tacitus. Covering the whole of Tacitus' works (the Agricola, Germania, Dialogus, as well as the historical narratives, the Histories and the Annals), this volume also includes articles published in English for the very first time.

In AD68 Nero's suicide marked the end of the first dynasty of imperial Rome. The following year was one of drama and danger, though not of chaos. In the surviving books of his Histories the barrister-historian Tacitus, writing some thirty years after the events he describes, gives us a detailed account based on excellent authorities. In the 'long but single year' of revolution four emperors emerge in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian - who established the Flavian dynasty. Rhiannon Ash stays true to the spirit of Wellesley's prose whilst making the translation more accessible to modern readers.

Tacitus' account of Nero's principate is an extraordinary piece of historical writing. His graphic narrative (including Annals XV) is one of the highlights of the greatest surviving historian of the Roman Empire. It describes how the imperial system survived Nero's flamboyant and hedonistic tenure as emperor, and includes many famous passages, from the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 to the city-wide party organised by Nero's praetorian prefect, Tigellinus, in Rome. This edition unlocks the difficulties and complexities of this challenging yet popular text for students and instructors alike. It elucidates the historical context of the work and the literary artistry of the author, as well as explaining grammatical difficulties of the Latin for students. It also includes a comprehensive introduction discussing historical, literary and stylistic issues.

Fame and Infamy honours Christopher Pelling, reflecting the range of his interests and demonstrating the extent of his influence in spearheading the so-called literary turn in the study of ancient historiography. The volumes twenty-four chapters are written by former pupils, graduate students, and close academic associates, themselves leading experts in their fields, from the UK and overseas. They consider the central question of characterization within Greek and Roman historiography and biography from a fresh perspective, combining close readings of texts of individual authors and overarching exploration into questions of how and why characterization in the ancient world evolves in the ways that it does. Spanning a wide period of time, and focusing on writers from both the Greek and Roman worlds - from Herodotus to Cassius Dio, and from Cicero to Suetonius and beyond - this volume will be essential reading for anyone interested in the evolution of the genres of historiography and biography in the ancient world.

The Histories is the first historical work by Rome's most accomplished and challenging historian, Tacitus. It narrates the brutal civil wars which broke out in AD 68-9 across the Roman Empire after the suicide of the last Julio-Claudian emperor, Nero. Book II covers the bloody finale of the war between two of those emperors, Otho and Vitellius, and the emerging challenge from the eventual victor, Vespasian. The progression of events, kaleidoscopic and gripping, unfolds over a broad geographical sweep and is presented by Tacitus with consummate artistry. This commentary on Histories Book II, the first in English for twenty-five years, elucidates historical questions, clarifies Tacitus' historiographical techniques and explains grammatical difficulties of the Latin for students. It also includes a Latin text, relevant maps, and a comprehensive introduction discussing historical, literary and stylistic questions.

The Histories is the first historical work by Rome's most accomplished and challenging historian, Tacitus. It narrates the brutal civil wars which broke out in AD 68-9 across the Roman Empire after the suicide of the last Julio-Claudian emperor, Nero. Book II covers the bloody finale of the war between two of those emperors, Otho and Vitellius, and the emerging challenge from the eventual victor, Vespasian. The progression of events, kaleidoscopic and gripping, unfolds over a broad geographical sweep and is presented by Tacitus with consummate artistry. This commentary on Histories Book II, the first in English for twenty-five years, elucidates historical questions, clarifies Tacitus' historiographical techniques and explains grammatical difficulties of the Latin for students. It also includes a Latin text, relevant maps, and a comprehensive introduction discussing historical, literary and stylistic questions.

This series of short incisive books introduces major figures of the ancient world to the modern general reader, including the essentials of each subject's life, works, and significance for later western civilisation. Tacitus is arguably the most significant writer of the Roman imperial period. His biting creativity is best known to us through his historical narratives. The Histories ruthlessly depicts the disastrous civil wars which exploded in AD 68-9, while the Annals chillingly documents the murky principates of the Julio-Claudian emperors from Tiberius to Nero. Tacitus is driven throughout by a desire to reveal escalating corruption and selfish ambitions and to demonstrate how and why such a debased world evolved after the death of Augustus. This book sets Tacitus clearly in context, surveying all his works and clarifying the traditions of ancient writing that informed and shaped his narratives. It also traces how his works have been used and abused in subsequent eras.