Publius Cornelisu Tacitus

Publius Cornelius Tacitus probably came from provincial aristocracy and was likely born in Gaul, although traditional historiography considered one of the Italian cities of Umbria to be his birthplace. He was the first member of his family to hold high offices and enter the Senate. He served as quaestor (81–82), praetor (88), consul (97), and finally proconsul of Asia (112/113). According to Professor K. Kumaniecki, one of the leading Polish classical philologists: “Thanks to his literary talent, psychological insight, and accuracy of judgment, Tacitus is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Roman historians”.

His first published work was probably the 45-chapter treatise De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae (The Life and Character of Julius Agricola), in which he presented a biography of his father-in-law against a broad historical background. Later, he wrote the first ethnographic monograph devoted to foreign tribes – Germania (Latin De origine et situ Germanorum, literally On the Origin and Location of the Germans). Tacitus never travelled to the territories inhabited by Germanic tribes; therefore, all the information he possessed came from second-hand sources. Nevertheless, Germania can be regarded as an excellent source of knowledge about the settlements, rulers, customs, and traditions of these peoples, whom the Romans considered barbarians.