Tacitus Annals Xii A Selection

This is the OCR-endorsed edition covering the Latin AS and A-Level (Group 1) prescription of Tacitus Annals XII, 25-26, 41–43, 52–53, 56–59, 64–69, giving full Latin text, commentary and vocabulary, with a detailed introduction. It is AD 48 and the emperor Claudius marries his 4th wife Agrippina. Little does he know that over the next six years she will build her power and destroy her opponents, until she is ready for her greatest crime – the murder of Claudius himself to enable the accession of her son Nero. Tacitus creates a gripping account of the struggle for power under a weak princeps, involving family rivals, scheming freedmen and servile senators. Supporting resources are available on the Companion Website: https://www.bloomsbury.pub/OCR-editions-2024-2026

This is the OCR-endorsed publication from Bloomsbury for the Latin AS and A-Level (Group 1) prescription of Tacitus' Annals IV, sections 1–4 (... non adversus habebatur), 7–12, and 39–41, and the A-Level (Group 2) prescription of sections 52–54, 57–60, 67–71 and 74–75, giving full Latin text, commentary and vocabulary, with a detailed introduction that also covers the prescribed sections to be read in English for A Level. It is AD 23 and we are in the ninth year of the reign of Rome's second emperor, Tiberius. Increasingly he has come to rely on the assistance of the Praetorian Prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, in the running of Rome. But Sejanus has ambitions beyond being a mere assistant, extending even as far as the imperial throne itself. Tacitus vividly portrays the machinations of Sejanus as he attempts to manoeuvre himself into a position to assume the ultimate authority, characterising the period as one dominated by villainy, betrayal and deceit. Resources are available on the Companion Website.

This is the OCR-endorsed edition covering the Latin A-Level (Group 2) prescription of Annals XIV, 1–13, giving full Latin text, commentary and vocabulary, with a detailed introduction that also covers the prescribed material to be read in English for A Level. Tacitus is one of the great Roman historians. His Annals, written in the early-2nd century CE, described the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius and Nero, covering the years 14–68 CE. In this selection he provides a memorable vignette of Nero's decadence and cruelty in the failed and then successful murder of his own mother, Agrippina. The drama of Nero's reign must be read in the context of Tacitus' perspective as an author writing within living memory of the events he describes, events which shaped the further development of imperial rule. Supporting resources are available on the Companion Website: https://www.bloomsbury.pub/OCR-editions-2024-2026

e emperor Nero is etched into the Western imagination as one of ancient Rome's most infamous villains, and Tacitus' Annals have played a central role in shaping the mainstream historiographical understanding of this flamboyant autocrat. This section of the text plunges us straight into the moral cesspool that Rome had apparently become in the later years of Nero's reign, chronicling the emperor's fledgling stage career including his plans for a grand tour of Greece; his participation in a city-wide orgy climaxing in his publicly consummated 'marriage' to his toy boy Pythagoras; the great fire of AD 64, during which large parts of central Rome went up in flames; and the rising of Nero's 'grotesque' new palace, the so-called 'Golden House', from the ashes of the city. This building project stoked the rumours that the emperor himself was behind the conflagration, and Tacitus goes on to present us with Nero's gruesome efforts to quell these mutterings by scapegoating and executing members of an unpopular new cult then starting to spread through the Roman empire: Christianity. All this contrasts starkly with four chapters focusing on one of Nero's most principled opponents, the Stoic senator Thrasea Paetus, an audacious figure of moral fibre, who courageously refuses to bend to the forces of imperial corruption and hypocrisy. This course book offers a portion of the original Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and a commentary. Designed to stretch and stimulate readers, Owen's and Gildenhard's incisive commentary will be of particular interest to students of Latin at both A2 and undergraduate level. It extends beyond detailed linguistic analysis and historical background to encourage critical engagement with Tacitus' prose and discussion of the most recent scholarly thought.

This is the OCR-endorsed publication from Bloomsbury for the Latin AS and A-Level (Group 1) prescription of Annals Book I sections 16–30 and the A-Level (Group 2) prescription of Annals Book I sections 3–7, 11–14 and 46–49, giving full Latin text, commentary and vocabulary, with a detailed introduction that also covers the prescribed text to be read in English for A Level. Annals I starts with the death of Augustus and the beginning of Tiberius' principate. Tacitus chronicles the uneasy and unprecedented transition from one to the other, in the context of a political elite shaken by years of civil war and unsure as to how best to protect their own interests and the stability Augustus had brought to Rome. With damning references to the servile nature of the new regime, Tacitus vividly paints scenes of confused senatorial debates, and Tiberius' own uncertainty over his own position and the best decisions to make. Opportunistic rebellions in the army are described with dramatic brilliance.

Tacitus' Annals of Imperial Rome recount the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus up to the death of Nero in AD 68. With clarity and vivid intensity he describes the reign of terror under the corrupt Tiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero, and the wars, poisonings, scandals, conspiracies and murders that were part of imperial life. Despite his claim that the Annals were written objectively, Tacitus' account is sharply critical of the emperors' excesses and fearful for the future of Imperial Rome, while also filled with a longing for its past glories.

This is the first intermediate-student edition of a selection from Tacitus' Annals I. Sections 3–7, 11–14, 16–30 and 46–49 are included as Latin text with an accompanying commentary and vocabulary. Focusing on a deliberately concise extract from the original, this edition is designed to be manageable for students reading the text for the first time while also perfectly encapsulating the interest of the longer work and inspiring further study of it. A detailed introduction explains points of historical and stylistic interest. Annals I starts with the death of Augustus and the beginning of Tiberius' principate. Tacitus chronicles the uneasy and unprecedented transition from one to the other, in the context of a political elite shaken by years of civil war and unsure as to how best to protect their own interests and the stability Augustus had brought to Rome. With damning references to the servile nature of the new regime, Tacitus vividly paints scenes of confused senatorial debates, and Tiberius' own uncertainty over his own position and the best decisions to make. Opportunistic rebellions in the army are described with dramatic brilliance.