Law and Order: Rome

One striking thing about Tacitus is the Roman approach to justice.  There are constant stories of crime and how justice was pursued.  The usual case goes something like this:

• Someone is accused of a crime.  Sometimes they actually did something wrong.  In fact, lots of times.  But other times, they were simply inconvenient for someone else.
• The servants of the accused are seized and tortured.  At some point, they spill the beans on the crime and the accused is found guilty.
• The guilty party (or 'guilty' party) commits suicide before any kind of sentence can be carried out.  This is usually poison or stabbing.  Sometimes the guilty party is urged to do this by some handy centurions, sometimes they've brought their own weapons.

And that's it.  If they did a Law and Order series in Rome, every episode would follow these lines.  Well, the story-telling would become monotonous, so they'd have to change it up somehow.  In truth, it got a bit monotonous in Tacitus.  In joking with my wife, I suggested that a wealthy Roman could have gotten away with murder if they were simply smart enough to keep the servants out of the loop.  That would be one of the twists that they'd end up using to keep the series afloat.
In practice, the Roman system of justice was probably terrifying.  If you got ahead and gained some prominence, you were in great danger.  And not just you, but your spouse and children.  Occasionally, the grand-kids would be spared and allowed some small portion of inheritance.  But the danger and uncertainty were a daily fact of life.
Kind of a rough place and time.

Tacitus and Christ

One interesting point in Tacitus' 'Annals', is that he is one of the earliest non-Christian authors to mention Jesus Christ.  This is just after Rome burns down and Nero is casting about for someone to blame:

Consequently, to get rid of the report, 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 extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular.

According to this Wikipedia page there is some pushback (because of course) but it seems pretty clear that this matches up with the story from the Gospel.  An official named Pontius Pilate condemned Christ to crucifixion, 'the extreme penalty'.  The pushback suggests that this note was added later by monks but the tone of the passage makes that hard to believe.  It's also said that Tacitus could simply be repeating the beliefs of the Christians but he had access to official records and used them throughout his writings.  There is no more reason to doubt him here then there is to doubt most of his writing.

Nero (about whom I'll write more) was a real piece of work.  The above passage wasn't kidding when it said that he inflicted exquisite tortures on Christians.  Tacitus describes some of their deaths:

Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

I've never heard of people being burnt to serve as torches.  That's pretty awful.  I'm surprised that Nero doesn't get more notoriety in Christian circles.

The Annals - Tacitus

Tacitus is an interesting historian.  He apparently decided that he would simply record things on a year by year basis.  Most years divide into two large elements, what wars are happening on the frontiers and what the political situation was back in Rome.  At the end of each year, he goes through the notable deaths.  Well, the deaths that occurred outside of the wars or (more frequently) the politics.
It was easier for me to follow the wars in Gaul, Germany and against the Parthians than it was to follow the news of Rome.  A few years back I spent considerable time playing a game called Total War Rome.  The game is mostly simulations of battles between Roman forces and various others of the period.  Suffice it to say, the Roman soldiers completely outclassed the various tribes of northern Europe.
There was more drama in Rome but from this viewpoint it was much harder to follow.  The Annals start off with the reign of Tiberius in 14 AD.  He followed up Julius and Augustus Caesar, two of the most famous men in history.  There was considerable trouble in Rome figuring out which faction would provide the next emperor and it caused near constant conflict.  This means lots of 'so and so killed so and so' and it was hard to figure out without some kind of family tree.
At first this confusion bothered me, but I relaxed and simply let some of it wash over me.  After a while, the names took on some meaning and I could follow along.  Well, follow to some extent.  Just as you'd get to know someone, they'd be knocked off.  It was an unbelievably nasty era of politics.
Coming off a few months of reading Greek history, the difference was striking.  I don't recall any assassination in Herodotus or Thucydides.  There, the conflict was between empires and city states.  Here, the biggest conflicts were internal.  It's a testament to the other structures of Rome that the constant fighting at the capitol didn't destabilize the empire.

Biography of Tacitus

Not much is known about the early life of Tacitus.  Even his first name and father are disputed.  It is thought that he was from what is now southern France (Narbonensis).  His father may have been an official that served in the region of Belgium and Germany, but that isn't clear.  We do know that he was friends with Pliny the Younger.  The two exchanged letters but it isn't clear if Tacitus had the same circle of friends or not.
But we do know some things.  He started in politics in 81 or 82 and in time moved up the ladder of Roman offices.  He served in the provinces from roughly 89 to 93 and may have commanded a legion.  This was a rough period, politically but he made it through without losing his life or his wealth. 
In 100 he worked with Pliny the Younger to prosecute a proconsul of Africa.  The proconsul was accused of corruption and he was found guilty.  Young Pliny spoke very highly of his speaking skills. 
It's believed that he then took some time off to write the Annals and the Histories.  Around 112 or 113 he became governor of the province of Asia.  It's believed that he died somewhere between 117 and 130. 

Tacitus is generally regarded as the leading Roman historian.  He often worked with primary sources, including existing texts of speeches from various Emperors.  We're lucky to have the Annals at all.  Most of what we have comes from two single copies, one that covered the first six books and the second which covered books 11-16.  Even so, there are parts missing.  Hopefully, the rest will be discovered in some monastery someday. 
It's a shame to think of what immortality of writing has been robbed, not by the judgment of people but by the fault of poor materials. 

Reading for April

Just one piece, but it's lengthy:

April
Tacitus: The Annals link

Reading for April

Just one piece this month but it's on the long side.

April
Tacitus: The Annals link