{"id":105002,"date":"2022-05-05T22:50:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T20:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/?page_id=105002"},"modified":"2026-07-28T23:16:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:16:06","slug":"roman-historiography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman historiography"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Chapters<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#what-is-historiography\" >What is historiography?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#the-beginnings-of-roman-historiography\" >The Beginnings of Roman Historiography<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#annalists-%e2%80%93-the-first-chroniclers-of-rome\" >Annalists &#8211; the first chroniclers of Rome<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#cato-the-elder-%e2%80%93-the-birth-of-latin-historiography\" >Cato the Elder &#8211; the birth of Latin historiography<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#the-greatest-historians-of-ancient-rome\" >The Greatest Historians of Ancient Rome<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#julius-caesar-100-44-bce\" >Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#sallustius-86-35-bce\" >Sallustius (86-35 BCE)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#titus-livy-59-bce-%e2%80%93-17-ce\" >Titus Livy (59 BCE &#8211; 17 CE)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#tacitus-c-56-120-ce\" >Tacitus (c. 56-120 CE)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#suetonius-c-70-140-ce\" >Suetonius (c. 70-140 CE)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#cassius-dio-c-155-235-ce\" >Cassius Dio (c. 155-235 CE)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#how-did-roman-historians-work\" >How did Roman historians work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#were-roman-historians-objective\" >Were Roman historians objective?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-literature\/roman-historiography\/#the-importance-of-roman-historiography\" >The Importance of Roman Historiography<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Roman historiography is one of the most valuable achievements of ancient <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/literature-in-ancient-rome\/\">literature<\/a>. It is thanks to the works of Roman historians that we know the course of the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wars\/punic-wars\/\">Punic Wars<\/a>, the conquest of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/neighboring-lands-around-ancient-rome\/gaul\/\">Gaul<\/a>, the fall of the republic, and the functioning of the empire. For the Romans, however, history was not merely a record of events. Its primary purpose was to teach, educate, and present role models.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Unlike modern historians, ancient authors rarely strived for complete objectivity. They often assessed heroes, interpreted events from a political or moral perspective, and even composed speeches that, although fictional, were intended to convey the character of the characters they described. Despite this, their works remain a fundamental source of knowledge about the history of ancient <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/rome-eternal-city\/\">Rome<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-historiography\"><\/span><strong>What is historiography?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The word <strong>historiography<\/strong> comes from the Greek language (<em>historia<\/em> &#8211; study, investigation; <em>graphein<\/em> &#8211; to write) and refers to both the writing of history and the totality of historical works concerning a specific period or country.<\/p>\n<p>In the Roman world, a historian was not merely a chronicler. He was often a politician, senator, military officer, or official who, through describing the past, wanted to convey specific values. History was supposed to answer the question not only of what happened, but above all of why it happened and what conclusions should be drawn from it.<\/p>\n<p>This is best expressed by the famous maxim attributed to <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/cicero\/\">Cicero<\/a>: <strong>Historia magistra vitae est<\/strong> &#8211; &#8220;History is the teacher of life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-beginnings-of-roman-historiography\"><\/span><strong>The Beginnings of Roman Historiography<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The beginnings of historiography date back to the 3rd century BCE, when Rome was emerging as the most powerful state in the Western Mediterranean. Early historians wrote in Greek, as it was the international language of scholarship and culture.<\/p>\n<p>The oldest known historian of Rome was Quintus Fabius Pictor (<em>Quintus Fabius Pictor<\/em>). He participated in the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wars\/punic-wars\/second-punic-war\/\">Second Punic War<\/a> and described the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/history-of-rome\/\">history of Rome<\/a> from its legendary beginnings to his own time. The original of his work has not survived, but it was used by almost all subsequent authors.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/annales-of-ennius-national-epic-of-romans\/\">Annales<\/a> Maximi\u2014annual records kept by the Pontifex Maximus\u2014were also of great importance. They contained information about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>elections of officials,<\/li>\n<li>wars,<\/li>\n<li>natural disasters,<\/li>\n<li>astronomical phenomena,<\/li>\n<li>major religious events.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although very laconic, they became the foundation of later historiography.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"annalists-%e2%80%93-the-first-chroniclers-of-rome\"><\/span><strong>Annalists &#8211; the first chroniclers of Rome<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The earliest stage of historiography is called annalistics. The annalists presented events year by year (<em>annus<\/em> means &#8220;year&#8221;), maintaining strict chronological order. Their works often began with the myth of Aeneas, then described the reigns of seven <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-kingdom\/roman-kings\/\">kings<\/a>, the birth of the republic, and subsequent wars.<\/p>\n<p>The most important annalists included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Quintus Fabius Pictor,<\/li>\n<li>Lucius Cincius Alimentus,<\/li>\n<li>Lucius Cassius Hemina,<\/li>\n<li>Valerius Antias.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most of their works have not survived, but they were widely used by <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/titus-livius\/\">Livy<\/a> and other later authors.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"cato-the-elder-%e2%80%93-the-birth-of-latin-historiography\"><\/span><strong>Cato the Elder &#8211; the birth of Latin historiography<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The real breakthrough came in the 2nd century BCE, when <strong>Marcus Porcius <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/cato-the-elder\/\">Cato the Elder<\/a><\/strong> (<em>Cato Maior<\/em>) wrote <strong>Origines<\/strong>. It was the first comprehensive history of Rome written in <strong>Latin<\/strong> rather than Greek. Cato rejected the tradition of listing annual events. He was much more interested in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the origins of Italian <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/\">cities<\/a>,<\/li>\n<li>the development of the Roman state,<\/li>\n<li>the virtues of the ancient Romans,<\/li>\n<li>the importance of simplicity and discipline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>His work had a huge influence on subsequent historiography, even though it survived only in fragments.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-greatest-historians-of-ancient-rome\"><\/span><strong>The Greatest Historians of Ancient Rome<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"julius-caesar-100-44-bce\"><\/span><strong>Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Although he was primarily a politician and general, he left behind some of the most outstanding historical works of antiquity.<\/p>\n<p>Most important works:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Commentarii de Bello Gallico<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Commentarii de Bello Civili<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Features of his work:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>simple, extremely clear style,<\/li>\n<li>third-person descriptions of events,<\/li>\n<li>military accuracy,<\/li>\n<li>abundant geographical and ethnographic information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, it should not be forgotten that these were also <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/propaganda-on-roman-coins\/\">propaganda<\/a> works, intended to justify Caesar&#8217;s actions to Roman public opinion.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"sallustius-86-35-bce\"><\/span><strong>Sallustius (86-35 BCE)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/as-you-are-gaius-i-am-gaia-well-known-roman-phrase\/\">Gaius<\/a> Sallustius Crispus<\/strong> is considered the first great historian of the late Republic.<\/p>\n<p>Most important works:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Bellum Catilinae<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Bellum Iugurthinum<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Historiae<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/sallust\/\">Sallust<\/a> believed that the greatest threat to the state was the loss of ancient civic virtues. According to him, after the destruction of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/neighboring-lands-around-ancient-rome\/carthage\/\">Carthage<\/a>, the Romans became:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>greedy,<\/li>\n<li>ambitious,<\/li>\n<li>corrupt,<\/li>\n<li>lusting for luxury.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Therefore, his works have a distinctly moralizing character.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"titus-livy-59-bce-%e2%80%93-17-ce\"><\/span><strong>Titus Livy (59 BCE &#8211; 17 CE)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The greatest historiographical undertaking of antiquity was Livy&#8217;s work: Ab Urbe Condita Libri (&#8220;History of Rome from the Founding of the City&#8221;). It comprised 142 books, of which only 35 have survived. Livy described over seven hundred years of Roman history\u2014from <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-legends\/legend-of-romulus-and-remus\/\">Romulus<\/a> to the time of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/emperor-who-was-chosen-by-gods\/\">Emperor<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/augustus\/\">Augustus<\/a>. His goal was not merely to present events. He also wanted to remind his contemporaries of ancient values:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/virtus\/\">virtus<\/a><\/em> (courage),<\/li>\n<li><em>pietas<\/em> (piety and duty),<\/li>\n<li><em>fides<\/em> (trustworthiness),<\/li>\n<li><em>disciplina<\/em> (discipline).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It was Livy who created most of the stories about the beginnings of Rome that are known today, such as the story of the Horatii and the Bathers or the heroism of Mucius Scaevola.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"tacitus-c-56-120-ce\"><\/span><strong>Tacitus (c. 56-120 CE)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>For many scholars, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/publius-cornelius-tacitus\/\">Publius Cornelius Tacitus<\/a><\/strong> is the most outstanding historian of ancient Rome.<\/p>\n<p>Most important works:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/gnaeus-julius-agricola\/\">Agricola<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/neighboring-lands-around-ancient-rome\/germania\/\">Germania<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Historiae<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Annales<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tacitus primarily analyzed the mechanisms of government.<\/p>\n<p>He was interested in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>how <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-empire\/roman-emperors\/\">emperors<\/a> gained influence,<\/li>\n<li>how the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-republic\/roman-offices\/roman-senate\/\">senate<\/a> operated,<\/li>\n<li>why conspiracies occurred,<\/li>\n<li>what impact individual ambitions had on politics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>His style is remarkably concise, full of irony and psychological observations.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"suetonius-c-70-140-ce\"><\/span><strong>Suetonius (c. 70-140 CE)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/suetonius\/\">Suetonius<\/a> did not write classical political history. His <strong>De Vita Caesarum<\/strong> (&#8220;Lives of the Caesars&#8221;) is a collection of biographies of the first twelve emperors.<\/p>\n<p>The author described:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the emperors&#8217; appearance,<\/li>\n<li>character,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/family-in-ancient-rome\/\">family<\/a> life,<\/li>\n<li>interests,<\/li>\n<li>court gossip,<\/li>\n<li>scandals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This makes his work an invaluable source of information about the daily lives of the Roman elite.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"cassius-dio-c-155-235-ce\"><\/span><strong>Cassius Dio (c. 155-235 CE)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The Greek senator <strong>Cassius Dio<\/strong> wrote a monumental <strong>Roman History<\/strong>, covering approximately a thousand years of history. The work contained <strong>80 books<\/strong>. The author drew on both earlier historians and his own experiences gained during his senatorial career. His accounts of the emperors of the 2nd and 3rd centuries are among the most important sources for researchers of this period.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how-did-roman-historians-work\"><\/span><strong>How did Roman historians work?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Modern historians use archives, analyze documents, and compare sources. The Roman historian had a much more difficult task. He most often used:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>earlier chronicles,<\/li>\n<li>official documents,<\/li>\n<li>temple archives,<\/li>\n<li>inscriptions,<\/li>\n<li>memoirs of participants,<\/li>\n<li>his own political experiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, there were no uniform principles of source criticism. Therefore, authors often:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>repeated legends,<\/li>\n<li>filled in the gaps with their own speculations,<\/li>\n<li>composed the characters&#8217; speeches,<\/li>\n<li>omitted inconvenient facts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"were-roman-historians-objective\"><\/span><strong>Were Roman historians objective?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>No. Most historians belonged to the political elite. <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/caesar-queen-of-nicomedes\/\">Caesar<\/a> justified his own wars. Sallust criticized his political opponents. Livy idealized the old republic. Tacitus viewed emperors through the eyes of a senator. Suetonius readily cited gossip. However, this does not mean that their works are unreliable. Modern scholars compare their accounts with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>archaeological discoveries,<\/li>\n<li>coins,<\/li>\n<li>papyri,<\/li>\n<li>inscriptions,<\/li>\n<li>Greek sources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This makes it possible to separate facts from literary interpretation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-importance-of-roman-historiography\"><\/span><strong>The Importance of Roman Historiography<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Roman historiography had a huge impact on the development of European culture and science. Medieval chroniclers, Renaissance humanists, and modern historians eagerly turned to the works of Livy, Tacitus, and Sallust, learning from them how to narrate the past and analyze political events.<\/p>\n<p>For contemporary scholars, the writings of Roman authors remain a fundamental source of knowledge about the republic and empire. Although they require critical analysis and comparison with archaeological evidence, they still provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of one of the most powerful states of antiquity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roman historiography is one of the most valuable achievements of ancient literature. It is thanks to the works of Roman historians that we know the course of the Punic Wars, the conquest of Gaul, the fall of the republic, and the functioning of the empire. For the Romans, however, history was not merely a record [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":40318,"parent":55691,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-105002","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/105002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105002"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/105002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161141,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/105002\/revisions\/161141"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}