The Histories

by Tacitus

Overview

The Histories, first published circa 110 AD, provides one of the most comprehensive records of Roman history from the time of the first civil war of the Empire ("The Year of the Four Emperors") until the rise of Vespasian in the year 70 AD. This edition is NOT a "mass market paperback" but a high-quality edition printed on white paper. The gripping story tells of the upheavals and strife which followed the death of Nero, and the quick succession of Emperors Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and lastly Vespasian. Galba ruled for only seven months until challenged-and killed-by rebels under the governor of the province of Lusitania, Marcus Salvius Otho, in a bloody fight carried out in the Forum in Rome. Otho reigned only three months before his rule was challenged by Aulus Vitellius, the commander of the legions on the lower Rhine River. When Otho's forces were defeated, he committed suicide and Vitellius ascended to the throne. Vitellius in turn only ruled for eight months until he also faced an uprising from Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus (Vespasian), commander of the Roman legions in Egypt and Judaea, who had been declared emperor by his own troops. When Vitellius met Vespasian's army in battle, he was defeated and executed in Rome by the victorious general's soldiers. In addition to a fast-paced narration of these events, Tacitus also provides many insights into the nature of Roman society, and two of the major wars of the period: the Batavian War and the first Roman-Jewish War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798211195011
Publisher:	Blurb
Publication date:	05/06/2024
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

D. S. Levene is Lecturer in Classics at the University of Durham. He was educated at the City of London School and Brasenose College, Oxford. His writings include Religion in Livy (Leiden, 1993) and articles on Sallust and Tacitus.

Table of Contents

The HistoriesIntroduction

Book One

1-11 The Setting of the Story
12-50 The Murder of Galba
51-90 The Vitellian Advance

Book Two

1-10 Flavian Caution
11-45 The First Battle of Cremona
46-56 Otho's Suicide
57-73 Vitellius in Northern Italy
74-86 Vespasian Emperor
87-101 Rome Under Vitellius

Book Three

1-35 The Second Battle of Cremona
36-48 A World Convulsed
49-86 The March on Rome

Book Four

1-11 A Divided Senate
12-37 Civilis Revolts
38-53 The New Year, A.D. 70
54-80 The Rhineland Recovered
81-86 Signs and Wonders

Book Five

1-13 The Jews
14-26 The Collapse of Civilis

Bibliography
Key to Technical Terms
Key to Place-Names
Maps index of Personal Names

Editorial Reviews

"[P]lenty here to savour....Tacitus was not just a fine writer, he was also a senior Roman politician."—Max Davidson, The Daily Telegraph

From the Publisher

The Roman historian Tacitus details the turbulent “Year of the Four Emperors,” 69 CE, which was rife with war, political violence, chicanery, inept and vicious leaders, and even an assault on the Capitol. Narrator David Timson, with a fine voice and an easy mastery of pacing, tone, and the intelligent expression of the text’s meaning, goes beyond mere narration to bring out the mind and character of Tacitus implicit in the book: the worldly, but not jaded, judge of men, at once broad-minded and censorious. Timson gives appropriate emotions—anger, disdain, despair—when reading speeches quoted in the text, but Tacitus he renders as both coolly sophisticated and sardonically judgmental. He doesn’t read Tacitus; he performs AS Tacitus recounting the history, which gives this audiobook an extra spark. W.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile

The Roman historian Tacitus details the turbulent “Year of the Four Emperors,” 69 CE, which was rife with war, political violence, chicanery, inept and vicious leaders, and even an assault on the Capitol. Narrator David Timson, with a fine voice and an easy mastery of pacing, tone, and the intelligent expression of the text’s meaning, goes beyond mere narration to bring out the mind and character of Tacitus implicit in the book: the worldly, but not jaded, judge of men, at once broad-minded and censorious. Timson gives appropriate emotions—anger, disdain, despair—when reading speeches quoted in the text, but Tacitus he renders as both coolly sophisticated and sardonically judgmental. He doesn’t read Tacitus; he performs AS Tacitus recounting the history, which gives this audiobook an extra spark. W.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile