Cornelius Tacitus, Annals

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The Annals by Cornelius Tacitus is a work of Latin narrative history covering Roman events from the years 14 to 68 ce, during which time the Julio-Claudian emperors Tiberius, Gaius (Caligula), Claudius, and Nero ruled Rome. It is our fullest and most important source for the events of this period, and its striking picture of tyranny and the political culture it creates have made the Annals a classic among political scientists as well as historians of ancient Rome. Like Tacitus’ earlier historiographical work the Histories, the Annals does not survive in full and cannot be dated with certainty, though a publication date of c. 120 is likely.

In the fifth century St. Jerome wrote that the historical …

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Citation: Joseph, Timothy. "Annals". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 November 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13473, accessed 19 April 2024.]

13473 Annals 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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