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    The Annals of Tacitus: Excerpts
    The Annals of Tacitus: Excerpts
    The Annals of Tacitus: Excerpts
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Annals of Tacitus: Excerpts

    Written by Cornelius Tacitus

    Narrated by George Wilson

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The Annals, the last and greatest achievement of Tacitus, records the history of the Julio-Claudian emperors from the death of Augustus (14 A.D.) to the reign of Nero (54-68). These are stories of mutiny and murder, of whole armies disappearing beyond the Rhine, of an unstable and gloomy frontier. Tacitus brings us Nero himself, whose reign saw the burning of Rome and the mass slaughter of Christians, and whose vices still captivate and startle us with their imagination and cruelty.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 11, 2008
    ISBN9781436143615
    The Annals of Tacitus: Excerpts

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    Reviews for The Annals of Tacitus

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    • 5/5
      Tacitus live approximately from 55 to 117, was a friend of Pliny the Younger, held several public positions (including Proconsul of Asia). With the exception of several public offices and one famous trial in 99 (with Pliny), not much is known about him other than his Histories, Annals, and Germany. He married the daughter of Julius Agricola, the Governor of Britain. I will relate here my observations and a few notes recorded from my reading of the Annals. However, there is so much there that I cannot possible cover. Tacitus worked to convey every important event, touching each with as much detail as relevant. In general the history focuses on the emperors during the years between the 14 ad and 66 ad. Tacitus himself witnessed the workings of Nero who forced attendance to the Senate to "see plainly whether you have any affection for me." Tacitus saw the decay of Roman society and emphasized that throughout his history of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I managed to plough through The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, which details the history of Rome from (roughly) 15AD to 66AD, across a few emperors and a hell of a lot of history.I say that I ploughed through it, but that’s not strictly true. The initial chapters were a bit of a slog, but once I got used to the style and how events were described, it became thoroughly enjoyable. There’s detail where you want detail, but equally Tacitus seemed to know a slow year when he saw one, and barely gave it more than a couple of pages.Tacitus seemed to take great pleasure in detailing how the imperial family were basically corrupt and despicable, for the most part, and were heavily influenced by advisers who were only interested in their own ends. Maybe this was because of the time when he wrote, with Rome firmly in decline, and transposing his contemporary views onto history. But I can see why someone like Nero drew contempt from Tacitus: he basically gorged and copulated his way through his time as Emperor, to the detriment of the Empire.I don’t know Roman history particularly well, and I’ve no idea why I picked this book off of the shelves. My knowledge of Roman culture and history comes from one of those Horrible Histories books back when I was in school, and even then it’s concentrated around things like the army, its conquests and the many odd gods they worshipped.[Sidenote: weren’t Horrible Histories the best series of books? I swear that my entire interest in history, especially British monarchs, stemmed from those books. They knew exactly how to make history interesting and how to make it appeal to children/young teens. I believe there was even a TV show developed at one point.]So to go into this book a little blind was a bit daunting. Thankfully, the appendices were multiple and explanatory, and the introduction from its translator also gave the setting for the rest of the text. Usually I skip introductions when I read classics, and just go straight into the novel/text itself, but in this case it was almost necessary to read it.It’s not an easy read, and it’s not exactly light, but I think it’s worth picking up if you’ve got a vague interest in the gradual downfall of the Roman Empire, and particularly the personalities which brought it to its knees. Whether I go so far as to pick up The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is another matter whatsoever.
    • 5/5
      A steady diet of death and destruction, enlivened only by debauchery and dishonesty. Gripping read for all that. I would expect the real ancient Rome was probably not quite so bad as the judgmental Tacitus would have it, largely on the evidence that the empire lasted another 400 years past the events described. A good read for anyone interested in Roman history, and for anyone who enjoys watching the soaps.
    • 5/5
      Anyone who has even casually read about Roman imperial history will have encountered Tacitus. He is, according to translator and noted classicist Michael Grant, virtually the only Latin historian we have for the early days of the Roman Empire. This work, generally considered Tacitus' greatest, covers the period from shortly before Augustus' death to AD 69, about three years before Nero's death. Unfortunately, we don't have the entire work. (The Annals only survived into the Middle Ages through two manuscripts, one for each half of the work.) The section on Caligula is totally missing, and we only have parts of Tiberius' and Claudius' reigns. It's history with a moral purpose: to punish evil and reward virtue through the judgement of posterity. Grant calls Tacitus' Latin "unusual and difficult", possessing a pungent simplicity in the original. Has Grant rendered it accurately? Not knowing Latin, I have no idea. (The problem of translation is further complicated by possible corruption in those two manuscripts.) As it appears here, it's a stylish history, particularly in its many speeches. Tacitus himself was a noted orator and wrote about the art. The speeches he gives us range from mutinous Roman soldiers and Agrippina (wife of Tiberius' nephew Germanicus) reacting to said troops, German barbarians, and some of Nero's victims before they "opened their veins" after his condemnation. I say Tacitus gives us those speeches because they are all invented. There's no way Tactitus would have a verbatim record of what was said. However, as Grant makes clear, he's operating in a tradition of ancient historical writing as well as trying to tell a compelling story. Grant claims that Tacitus' account of Tiberius' reign is usually considered the highest example of his art. There is certainly art there. I didn't find the condemnation of Tiberius entirely convincing though, and Grant argues that Tacitus is reacting to his experiences as a senator under the tyrannical reign of Domitian rather than Tiberius' who died before Tacitus was born. There is much on Rome's intervention in Parthian and Armenian politics. I found the reign of Nero the most interesting with Tacitus noting the craven, cowardly flattery of most of Rome's nobility along with a few who would not abase themselves. (The amount of people who pliantly committed suicide after facing Nero's disapproval is explained by their effort to protect surviving family members and to preserve at least a portion of their estate.) Grant helpfully footnotes some of the allusions to missing parts of the work or earlier episodes of Roman history. Still, I wouldn't attempt this work without first reading a general history of the period. Grant does put in a nice glossary of Roman political and military terms. Frankly, I didn't need to look at it, but I did happen to glance at some of the entries. Grant chooses, here, to make some unconventional translations of some terms, particularly the military ones. I'm not sure why. I haven't seen things like "company-commander" for centurion in his other work including his later _The Army of the Caesars_. The several included maps show almost all the referenced places, and there are four very necessary pages covering the complicated genealogies surrounding the Julio-Claudian emperors.
    • 3/5
      The Annals are the main source for Robert Graves' novels and miniseries 'I, Claudius.' Tacitus covers the lives of the early Roman imperial family -- starting with Augustus to Nero (parts of Caligula's reign are missing, but what is there, makes for an interesting look at Rome). Very fun read.
    • 4/5
      Next year, when the consuls were Nero (for the second time) and Lucius Calpurnius Piso (V), little worth recording occurred, except in the eyes of historians who like filling their pages with praise of the foundations and beams of Nero's huge amphitheatre in the Field of Mars.Tacitus tells the story of Rome under the Caesars, from shortly before the death of Augustus until the end of Nero's reign, although various parts of his book are lost, including the whole of Gaius(Caligula)'s reign. Tacitus was writing long enough afterwards to be able to speak frankly about the emperors' many faults. He seems to be fairly even-handed though, as although he quite obviously hates Tiberius, he comments more than once that Tiberius hated flattery, and did not not accept money left to him in people's wills unless they were personal friends of his. Tacitus is rather sharp tongued comments at times; the translator included a footnote saying that the quotation above is a catty reference to Pliny the Elder.I think it's a pity that the translator decided to use the less picturesque division (when the auxiliaries are included) or brigade instead of legion, and company commander instead of centurion.
    • 4/5
      Roman history, straight from the horse's mouth.

      An account which is missing large gaps, but still portrays the Empire through some of its most tumultuous times. A state which tears itself apart.

      One of the best accounts of that era that we have - but it is still to be analyzed and read carefully, with an eye for bias, as with any history.