Tacitus, in full Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus c.55-120AD
Roman historian

Born perhaps in Narbonese Gaul, he studied rhetoric in Rome, rose to eminence as a pleader at the Roman Bar, and in 77AD married the daughter of Agricola, the conqueror of Britain. By 88 he was already praetor and a member of one of the priestly colleges. He was an eye witness to Domitian's reign of terror, and under Nerva he became a consul (97). He established a great reputation as an orator, and 11 of Pliny's letters were addressed to him. The earliest surviving work generally attributed to him was the Dialogus de oratoribus. His major works are the 12-volume Historiae ('Histories'), of which only the first four books survive whole, and Annales ('Annals'), of which only eight of the probable 18 books have survived.

Bibliography: The Annals of Imperial Rome (Eng trans M Grant, 1956)