Written by Julia Schulz

Biography

Publius Cornelius Tacitus (see fig. 1) was a Roman Historian and Politician born in ca. 55 CE.¹ He published his History focusing on the years 69-96 CE in 14 books, of which volumes I-IV and the beginning of V are preserved. Tacitus’ Annals², his other major work, was published in 16 books, comprising the years 14-68 CE, from the death of Augustus to the death of Tiberius. Preserved are the books I-IV, the beginning of V, VI without the beginning, XI without beginning, and XVI without an end.³

He was well acquainted with Pliny the Younger with whom he exchanged detailed letters on history and literature.⁴

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His account of Syene

Tacitus mentions Syene, together with Elephantine, as the former border of the Roman Empire:

“But other marvels, too, arrested the attention of Germanicus: in especial, the stone colossus of Memnon, which emits a vocal sound when touched by the rays of the sun; the pyramids reared mountain high by the wealth of emulous kings among wind-swept and all but impassable sands; the excavated lake which receives the overflow of Nile; and, elsewhere, narrow gorges and deeps impervious to the plummet of the explorer. Then he proceeded to Elephantine and Syene, once the limits of the Roman Empire, which now stretches to the Persian Gulf.”⁵

Sources

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