Cornelius Tacitus was one of the most important Roman historians, and it is to him that we owe most of what we know about the Roman Empire under the Julio-Claudian and the Flavian emperors.
He began his ultimately distinguished career as a senator in the reign of Vespasian, rising up the rank until he was made consul in 97 AD, and then, in 112-3, governor of Asia (modern Turkey).
Tacitus has left us two important historical treatises: the Annals, which covers the period of Roman rule from 14-68 AD (the Julio-Claudian dynasty) and the Histories, covering the period from 69-96. "The works," says David Potter, professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan, "are notable for their scrupulous attention to historical sources, their perceptive observations on the mainsprings of power and their acute analysis of people's motivations."
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