Creator Bio
Tacitus
56–120
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman senator and historian of the Roman Empire. His two most influential works, Histories and Annals, span the period from the death of Augustus in 14 CE to the death of Domitian in 96 CE and include an overview of Roman rule in Judea through the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE). Tacitus was trained in rhetoric early in his career and later withdrew from public office to devote his time exclusively to writing.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Judaea Falls under Roman Control
The first Roman to subdue the Jews and set foot in their temple by right of conquest was Gnaeus Pompey: thereafter it was a matter of common knowledge that there were no representations of the gods…
Primary Source
Roman Tactics against the Jewish Revolt
Still the Jews’ patience lasted until Gessius Florus became procurator: in his time war began. When Cestius Gallus, governor of Syria, tried to stop it, he suffered varied fortunes and met defeat more…
Primary Source
Roman Execution of Jesus
Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the…
Primary Source
Titus and Berenice
Titus Vespasianus had been dispatched by his father from Judaea. [ . . . ] These considerations and others like them made him waver between hope and fear; but hope finally won. Some believed that he…
Primary Source
Tiberius Bans Egyptian and Jewish Practice
There was also discussion of driving out Egyptian and Jewish rites, and a senatorial decree was passed ordering 4,000 persons of the freedman class who had been infected with such superstition, and…
Related Guide
The First Jewish Revolt
66–73
Trace the causes and battles of the First Jewish Revolt, from the siege of Jerusalem to the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Masada.
Related Guide
Early Traditions about Jesus in Non-Christian Sources
1st–2nd Centuries
Related Guide
Queen Berenice
1st–4th Centuries