Life and political career of Cornelius Tacitus: a proposal of interpretation
Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of some of the most recent discoveries and theories related to the life and career of the Roman politician and historian, Cornelius Tacitus. Through a review of primary and secondary sources, various innovative hypotheses are examined and discussed that provide a different perspective on this author. The study highlights the relevance of Tacitus as a politician. Existing documentary sources are reviewed, as well as the testimonies of other writers and contemporaries. This paper presents numerous hypotheses on topics such as his academic background, his participation in public administration and his relationship with other politicians and thinkers of the time. In addition, the influence of Tacitus on the Roman government and Senate is discussed. In conclusion, this article offers a proposal of interpretation of the life and career of Cornelius Tacitus, based on the latest discoveries and historiographical approaches.
Downloads
References
Alföldy, G. (1995). Bricht der Schweigsame sein Schweigen? Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 102, 252-268.
Ash, R. (2006). Oxford Reading in Tacitus. Oxford University Press.
Berge, B. H. ten (2023). Writing Imperial History: Tacitus from Agricola to Annales. University of Michigan Press.
Birley, A. R. (2000). The life and death of Cornelius Tacitus. Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 49, 230-247.
Blázquez, J. M. (2003). Trajano. Ariel.
Bovey, M. (2000). Le Dialogus de oratoribus de Tacite et les manuels de rhétorique. Latomus: revue d’études latines, 59, 353-363.
Brennan, T. C. (2000). The Praetorship in the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press.
Canto, A. M. (1999). Saeculum Aelium. Saeculum Hispanum: poder y promoción de los hispanos en Roma. AA. VV. (Dir.). Hispania: el legado de Roma (pp. 233-251). Ministerio de Cultura.
Canto, A. M. (2003). La dinastía Ulpio-Aelia (98-192 d.C.): ni tan "buenos", ni tan "adoptivos", ni tan "Antoninos". Gerión, 21, 305-347.
Castillo, C. (1993). El emperador Trajano: familia y entorno social. En González, J. (Ed.). Imp. Caes. Nerva Traianus Aug. (pp. 35-48). Alfar.
Cizek, E. (1983). L’époque de Trajan. Circonstances politiques et problèmes idéologiques. Editura Stiintifica si Enciclopedica.
Doronzo, D. M. et alii (2022). The 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius: A lesson from the past and the need of a multidisciplinary approach for developments in volcanology. Earth-Science Reviews, 231, 104072.
D'Ors. A. (1968). Derecho privado romano. Eúnsa.
Fabiá, Ph. (1904). La lettre de Pompeius Propinquus à Galba et l' avènement de Vitellius en Germanie. Klio, 4, 42-68.
Fernández de Buján, A. (2012). Historia del derecho romano. Civitas.
Flaig, E. - Franke, Th. (2006). Tacitus. En Cancik, H. – Schneider, H. (Eds.). Brill’s New Pauly. Antiquity volumes. Brill online.
Gallardo, C. (2002). Lectores y lecturas en la Roma antigua. Estudios Clásicos, 121, 43-62.
Griffin, M. T. (1999). Pliny and Tacitus. Scripta classica Israelica: yearbook of the Israel Society for the Promotion of Classical Studies, 18, 139-158.
Grimal, P. (1990). Tacite. Fayard.
Jones, N. F. (2001). Pliny’s the Younger’s Vesuvius Letters (6.16 and 6.20). The Classical World, 95, 31-48.
Laugier, J. L. (1969). Tacite. Éditions du Seuil.
Mantovani, D. (2009). Cicerone storico del Diritto. Ciceroniana on line. A Journal of Roman Thought, 13, 297-367.
Martin, R. (1981). Tacitus. Bristol Classical Press.
Martín Minguijón, A. R. (2022). Parerga de Derecho romano. UNED.
Martínez-Pinna, J. (2003). La expansión romana bajo Trajano. En Alvar, J. – Blázquez, J. M. (Eds.). Trajano (pp. 103-120). Actas.
Mattingly, H. B. (1972). Tacitus' praenomen. The politics of a moderate. Rivista Storica dell’Antichità, 2, 169-185.
Mendell, C. W. (1957). Tacitus. The man and his work. Yale University Press.
Moralejo, J. L. (1984). Cornelio Tácito: Anales. Gredos.
Moralejo, J. L. (1990): Tácito: Historias. Akal Clásica.
Oliver, R. P. (1951). The first Medicean Ms. of Tacitus and the titulature of ancient books. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 82, 232-261.
Oliver, R. P. (1977). The Praenomen of Tacitus. The American Journal of Philology, 98, 64-70.
Pagán, V. E. (2017). Tacitus. I. B. Tauris.
Pagán, V. E. (Ed.) (2023). Tacitus Encyclopedia. Wiley-Blackwell.
Paratore, E. (1962). Tacito. Edizioni dell'Ateneo.
Pina Polo, F. – Díaz Fernández, A. (2019). The Questorship in the Roman Republic. De Gruyter.
Posadas, J. L. (2012). Tiberio y las esposas de los gobernadores en provincias. En Bravo, G. - González Salinero R. (Eds.), Ver, viajar y hospedarse en el mundo romano (pp. 281-300). Signifer Libros.
Posadas, J. L. (2014). Romanos y germanos a finales del siglo I d. C. según Tácito. En G. Bravo y R. González Salinero (eds.), Conquistadores y conquistados: relaciones de dominio en el mundo romano (pp. 311-324). Signifer Libros.
Posadas, J. L. (2020). Trajano y los intelectuales. Ediciones Clásicas.
Potter, D. S. (2012). Tacitus’ Sources. En Pagán, V. E. (Ed.). A companion to Tacitus (pp. 141-161). Wiley Blackwell.
Roldán, J. M. (2003). M. Ulpius Traianus: perfil de un Emperador. En Alvar, J. – Blázquez, J. M. (Eds.). Trajano (pp. 13-32). Actas.
Syme, R. (1958). Tacitus. Oxford University Press.
Syme, R. (1958b). The senator as historian. Entretiens sur l’Antiquité Classique, 4, 187-212. Génova.
Syme, R. (1970). Ten Studies in Tacitus. Oxford University Press.
Syme, R. (1979). Juvenal, Pliny, Tacitus. American Journal of Philology, 100, 250-278.
Tobalina Oraá, E. (2007). El cursus honorum senatorial durante la época Julio-Claudia. Eúnsa.
Townend, G. (1961). The reputation of Verginius Rufus. Latomus. Revue d’Études Latines, 20, 337-341.
Vilacoba Ramos, K. M. (2022). De officio senatorio romano. Aranzadi.
Viveros González, A. F. (2011). Tácito y la trascendencia de su memoria. Revista de Historia Social y de las Mentalidades, 15, 125-163.
Woodman, A. J. (2009). Cambridge Companion to Tacitus. Cambridge University Press.
Copyright (c) 2024 Juan Luis Posadas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All the contents published in this journal are subject to an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Creative Commons License. You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially. Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
Full text of the license is available in: Creative Commons License 
