Histories (Tacitus)

Histories (Tacitus)

Histories (Latin: Historiae) is a book by Tacitus, written c. 100–110, which covers the Year of Four Emperors following the downfall of Nero, the rise of Vespasian, and the rule of the Flavian Dynasty (69–96) up to the death of Domitian.

At the beginning of the year AD 69, six months after the death of Nero, Tacitus started working on his Histories. Together the Histories and the Annals amounted to 30 books. These thirty books are referred to by Saint Jerome, and about half of them have survived. Although some scholars differ on how to assign the books to each work, traditionally fourteen are assigned to Histories and sixteen to the Annals. Tacitus' friend Pliny referred to "your histories" when writing to him about his earlier work.

By the time Histories had completed it covered Roman history from the death of Nero to the end of the reign of Domitian i.e. the period AD 69-96. The Annals deals with the five decades before Nero, i.e. from reign of Tiberius in AD 14 to the death of Nero in AD 68.