Roman Historiography: Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius

Roman Historiography

Roman literary prose, oratory and historiography occupied the major cultural posts. Historiography was understood as a literary genre rather than as a strictly scientific work. Historians admitted the inclusion of legends, the recreation of some events, the creation of fictitious speeches and letters, and the use of expressive resources typical of rhetoric.

Origins and Early Annalists

The origins are found in the annals of the pontiffs, prepared every year, recording the most relevant facts. When the Romans won the First Punic War, they wrote their history as political propaganda and as a national affirmation. They recorded events year by year, like the pope in his annals. From there they took the name of annalists. Early annalists wrote in Greek, then in Latin. Of these, the most important was Cato, author of Origins.

Caesar and Sallust

There are two principal figures: Caesar and Sallust.

• Gaius Julius Caesar — a brilliant military leader and politician, a first‑rate player in the civil war against Pompey and dictator until his assassination. Author of the Gallic Wars and the Civil War, two works entitled Commentarii. His prose is accurate and very clear. To give an impression of objectivity, he refers to himself in the third person and avoids slang, archaic, or poetic language. His style is a model of classical prose.
• Crispus Sallust — retired to a villa to work as a historian. He wrote two major works, The Conspiracy of Catiline and The Jugurthine War, both not composed as annals. The Conspiracy of Catiline recounts the coup attempt of Catiline, when he attempted to assassinate Cicero. The Jugurthine War covers Rome's war against Jugurtha, king of Numidia (North Africa).

Style Differences: Sallust and Caesar

Sallust's style is slightly archaic and concise. He differs from Caesar in the inclusion of moral reflections.

Livy and the Imperial Era

The imperial era is represented by the work of Livy, Ab Urbe Condita ("From the founding of the City"), which originally occupied 142 books and covered the history of Rome from its foundation. Patriotic exaggerations and inaccuracies abound; his aim was to build a monument to the glory of Rome. Livy's style differs from Sallust's: it is abundant, uses poetic and rhetorical elements, and frequently includes speeches. He sought beauty in his prose.

Tacitus and Suetonius

The last great historian is Publius Cornelius Tacitus. His works, the Annals, recount events from the death of the Emperor Augustus to the reign of Nero. Tacitus lived during the period he describes and therefore had direct knowledge of many facts. He is very demanding about his sources. The Rome he describes is a hotbed of corruption; his pessimistic and critical tone is pervasive. His style is concise; he uses rhetorical resources and achieves psychological depth and dramatic intensity in his portraits.

Suetonius, in his Lives of the Caesars, belongs to the same period as Tacitus. His work is conceived as a set of biographies. He is more concerned with anecdotes than with rhetorical or fictional discourse, and he frequently quotes official documents.