Gaius Cornelius Tacitus

History of Rome. Ancient Historians and Generals. Tacitus grew up during a the reign of Nero, and may have been a teenager when Nero died and the Roman empire was plunged into civil war. In his later years he became interested in writing an unbiased account of those times, starting his account just before Tiberius came to the throne. We do not have a complete account of either the Annals or the Histories, but what has been preserved provides an interesting look at Roman life, written by one who lived close to those times.