Tacitus Annals I: A Selection

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.