Histories (Tacitus)

Lore & Background

The *Histories* and the *Annals* together amounted to 30 books, as noted by Saint Jerome, though scholars disagree on how to assign the books to each work; traditionally, fourteen are assigned to the *Histories* and sixteen to the *Annals*. Tacitus' friend Pliny the Younger referred to 'your histories' when writing to Tacitus about the earlier work. The surviving portion of the *Histories* covers the year 69 and the first part of 70, including the civil wars of the Year of Four Emperors—Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian—and the beginning of Vespasian's reign. The fifth book contains a short ethnographic survey of the ancient Jews as a prelude to the account of Titus' victory in the First Jewish–Roman War.

Reader's Guide

Tacitus wrote the *Histories* about 30 years after the events it describes, not long after Nerva's seizure of power, which bore similarities to the events of AD 69. The work reflects Tacitus' ideological position that only a monarchical emperor (principatus) could maintain peace, the fidelity of the armies, and the cohesion of the empire. He contrasts the failures of Galba—a feeble old man whose pure respect for formality and lack of political realism rendered him unable to control events—with Nerva's successful adoption of Trajan, who kept the legions unified and prevented rival claimants. Tacitus considered the rule of the adoptive emperors the only possible solution to the empire's problems. The *Histories* is a grim work, speaking throughout of violence, dishonesty, and injustice, written from the point of view of an aristocrat who shows fear and disdain for soldiers' tumult and the rabble of the capital, and malice toward senators whose public image contrasts with their adulation, conspiracy, and ambition.

Did You Know?

• Only the first four books and the first 26 chapters of the fifth book of the *Histories* have survived.
• The *Histories* originally covered Roman history from AD 69 to AD 96, but the surviving portion only reaches the year 70.
• The fifth book contains a short ethnographic survey of the ancient Jews, an invaluable record of educated Romans' attitude toward that people.
• Tacitus wrote the *Histories* about 30 years after the events, not long after Nerva's seizure of power.