Tacitus Annals I: A SelectionKatharine Radice, Roland Mayer 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. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ablative absolute accusative and infinitive adjective adopted Agrippa Postumus alii Annals apud army asyndeton atis Augustus Battle of Actium Blaesus Caesar castris causa centurions Chapter 17 note command commentary notes consul dative death denarius described descriptive ablative Domitian Drusus emphatic English expression filius genitive Germanicus Germany gerund historians historic infinitive imperial imperium impersonal passive indirect statement Introduction legati legions legionum Livia Livy main clause metaphor metus military militum mutiny narrative neque nisi noun onis Oratio Obliqua original direct speech oris Oxford Latin Grammar Pannonia participle Percennius Planasia political Praetorian Guard preposition present princeps proconsulare prose quae quaestor quam quamquam quidem quis quisque quod refers reign rhetoric role Roman Rome Rome’s seditio Senate Senate’s senatorial sense sentence soldiers style subjunctive Suetonius suggests syntax Tacitean Tacitus tense Tiberius translated tribuniciae potestatis troops understand erat variatio verb Vibulenus word