This article is about the Roman historian. For the Roman general who put down the rebellion of Boudica, see Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, also spelled Paullinus, (flourished 1st century) was a Roman general

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (ca. 69/75 - after 130), also known as Suetonius, was a prominent Roman historian and biographer. 69 (sex position & book by Ryu Murakami are -- already linked by "" with other meanings Year 75 was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC

Life

Suetonius was born the son of Suetonius Laetus, who probably came from Hippo Regius (Annaba, Algeria). Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba (formerly Bône Algeria. Annaba (عنابة formerly Bône, historically Hippo) is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse and Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Laetus was an equestrian who served and took part in the first Battle of Bedriacum for the Emperor Otho and against the future Emperor Vitellius in 69. The Battle of Bedriacum refers to two battles fought during the Year of the four emperors ( 69) near the village of Bedriacum (now Calvatone For other uses see Otho (disambiguation. Marcus Salvius Otho ( April 25, 32 – April 16, 69) also called Marcus Aulus Vitellius Germanicus, born Aulus Vitellius and commonly known as Vitellius ( 24 September, 15 &ndash 22 December, 69 69 (sex position & book by Ryu Murakami are -- already linked by "" with other meanings

Marble bust of Trajan.

Suetonius was a close friend to Senator and letter-writer Pliny the Younger. The Roman Senate was a political institution in Ancient Rome. Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61/63 - ca Pliny describes him as "quiet and studious, a man dedicated to writing. " Pliny helped him buy a small property in Italy and interceded with the Emperor Trajan to grant Suetonius immunities usually granted to a father of three, the ius trium liberorum, because his marriage was childless. Italia, under the Roman Republic and later Empire, was the name of the Italian peninsula. Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who The ius trium liberorum (or "right of three children" was part of the social legislation of Augustus aimed at motivating larger families by granting privileges to ^[1] Through Pliny, Suetonius came into favour with Trajan and Hadrian. Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24 76 &ndash July 10 138 as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after

Suetonius served on Pliny’s staff when Pliny was Proconsul of Bithynia Pontus (northern Asia Minor) between 110 and 112. Ancient Rome In the Roman Republic, a proconsul was a Promagistrate (like a Propraetor) who after serving as Consul, spent a year Geography The Black Sea region loosely called Pontus by various scholars has a steep rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Under Trajan he served as secretary of studies (precise functions are uncertain) and director of Imperial archives. Under Hadrian, he became the Emperor's secretary.

Bust of Hadrian.

In 122, Hadrian dismissed him for disrespectful behaviour towards Empress Vibia Sabina. Vibia Sabina ( c 86-136 or 137 was a Roman Empress wife and third cousin to Roman Emperor Hadrian. Suetonius may have later regained imperial favor under Hadrian and returned to his position. This hypothesis is based on the suggestion that Offices of State was one of his last works, and that the subject was chosen to reflect Hadrian's administrative reforms. However, there is no certain evidence for a public career after 122.

Works

Twelve Caesars

Main article: Lives of the Twelve Caesars

An engraving depicting Gaius Julius Caesar.

Bust of Domitian.

He is mainly remembered as the author of De Vita Caesarum ("About the Lives of the Caesars", best known in English as "The Twelve Caesars"), his only extant work except for the brief lives and other fragments noted below. The Twelve Caesars, probably written in Hadrian's time, is a collective biography of the Roman Empire's first leaders, Julius Caesar (the first few chapters are missing), Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (or Tiberius I) born Tiberius Claudius Nero (November 16 42 BC – March 16 AD 37) was the second Roman Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31 AD 12 &ndash January 24 AD 41 more commonly known by his nickname Caligula (kəˈlɪɡjʊlə was a Roman Emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( December 15, 37 – June 9, 68) born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Servius Sulpicius Galba ( December 24, 3 BC &ndash January 15, 69) also called Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar For other uses see Otho (disambiguation. Marcus Salvius Otho ( April 25, 32 – April 16, 69) also called Marcus Aulus Vitellius Germanicus, born Aulus Vitellius and commonly known as Vitellius ( 24 September, 15 &ndash 22 December, 69 Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian ( November 17 9 &ndash June 23 79) was a Roman Emperor who Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Titus ( December 30 39 &ndash September 13 81) was a Roman Emperor who Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 &ndash 18 September 96 commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death The book was dedicated to a friend Gaius Septicius Clarus, a prefect of the Praetorian Guard in 119. Prefect (from the Latin praefectus, perfect participle of praeficere: "make in front" i The Praetorian Guard ( Latin: PRÆTORIANI was a special force of Guards used by Roman Emperors Before being appropriated The work tells the tale of each Caesar's life according to a set formula: the descriptions of appearance, omens, family history, quotes, and then a history are given in a consistent order for each Caesar. Suetonius regarded emperors who amassed wealth for the public purse to be "greedy", perhaps a reflection of the average Roman middle class attitudes.

Other works

Partly extant

• De Viris Illustribus ("On Famous Men" — in the field of literature), to which belong:
  • De Illustribus Grammaticis ("Lives Of The Grammarians"; 20 brief lives, apparently complete)
  • De Claris Rhetoribus ("Lives Of The Rhetoricians"; 5 brief lives out of an original 16 survive)
  • De Poetis ("Lives Of The Poets"; the life of Virgil, as well as fragments from the lives of Terence, Horace and Lucan, survive)
  • De historicis ("Lives of the historians"; a brief life of Pliny the Elder is attributed to this work)
• Peri ton par' Hellesi paidion ("Greek Games")
• Peri blasphemion ("Greek Terms of Abuse")

The two last works were written in Greek. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or Publius Terentius Afer (195/185&ndash159 BC better known as Terence, was a Playwright of the Roman Republic. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace Marcus Annaeus Lucanus ( November 3, 39 AD – April 30, 65 AD better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author They apparently survive in part in the form of extracts in later Greek glossaries.

Lost works

• Lives of Famous Whores
• Royal Biographies
• Roma ("On Rome"), in four parts:
  • Roman Manners & Customs
  • The Roman Year
  • The Roman Festivals
  • Roman Dress
• Offices of State
• On Cicero’s Republic (a response to Didymus' own work on The Republic)^[2]
• Physical Defects of Mankind
• Methods of Reckoning Time
• An Essay on Nature
• Grammatical Problems
• Critical Signs Used in Books

References

External links

Primary sources

• The Lives of the Twelve Caesars at LacusCurtius (Latin original, English translation)
• Suetonius' works at Latin Library (Latin)
• Works by Suetonius at Project Gutenberg
  • The Lives of the Twelve Caesars at Project Gutenberg (English translation - includes Lives Of The Grammarians, Rhetoricians, And Poets)
• Gai Suetoni Tranquilli De vita Caesarum libri III-VI Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. A lost work is a document or literary work produced some time in the past of which no surviving copies are known to exist Didymus Chalcenterus (Latin Greek Didymos chalkenteros, "Didymus bronze-guts" ca Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61/63 - ca The Suda or Souda ( also, Suidas) is a massive 10th century Byzantine Greek historical encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works

Secondary sources

• Suetonius and the reign of Tiberius: a comparison with other sources
• Livius.org: Suetonius

Bibliography

• Barry Baldwin, Suetonius: Biographer of the Caesars. Barry Baldwin (born in England in 1937 is a classicist, journalist and author of Mystery fiction. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert, 1983.