Gaius Cornelius Tacitus was probably born in Vasio, Italy in about AD 55. He studied rhetoric under Quintilian. A fellow student was his life-long friend, Pliny the Younger. He also served as a legionary officer.
An outstanding orator he rose to eminence as a pleader at the Roman Bar. In AD 77 he married the daughter of Agricola. He also served as tribune under Titus (80- 81). He was a quaestor (82), praetor (88) and consul (97).
In 99 Tacitus joined forces with Pliny the Younger in the prosecution of Marius Priscus. Both men received a special vote of thanks from the senate for their conduct of the case. Tacitus held several important posts before being appointed governor of the Roman province of Asia by Emperor Trajan.
Tacitus is considered the most important historian of the Roman Empire. Although Tacitus often expressed strong opinions on the events that he wrote about, he is respected for his analysis of a wide range of sources, including the work of other historians, biographies, interviews, pamphlets, speeches, minutes of the Senate and inscriptions. Most of these sources have not survived.
