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Suetonius




Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus ( 69 or 70 AD - after 130 AD ) or known as '''Suetonius''' was a prominent Roman historian.


LIFE

He was the son of Suetonius Laetus who probably came from Hippo Regius ( Annaba , Algeria ). Laetus was an Equestrian who served as a regular colonel and took part in the first Battle Of Bedriacum for the Emperor Otho and against the future Emperor Vitellius in AD 69 .

Suetonius was a close friend to Senator and Historian Pliny The Younger . 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 '' Jus Trium Liberorum '', even though Suetonius never married or had any children. Through Pliny, Suetonius came into favor with Trajan and Hadrian .

Suetonius served on Pliny’s staff when Pliny was Proconsul of Bithynia Pontus (northern Asia Minor ) between 110 and 112 . Under Trajan he served a secretariat of studies (precise functions are uncertain) and a directorate of Imperial libraries. Under Hadrian, he became his imperial secretary.

In 122 , Hadrian dismissed him for disrespectful behaviour towards Empress Vibia Sabina . Suetonius may have later regained imperial favor under Hadrian and returned to his position. This hypothesis is based on the suggestion that ''Office 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

See Also: Lives of the Twelve Caesars


He is mainly remembered as the author ''The Twelve Caesars'' (also known as ''Lives of the Caesars''), his only extant work except for the fragments noted below. The Twelve Caesars, probably written in Hadrian's time, is a biography of the Roman Empire's first leaders who were: Julius Caesar (the first few chapters are missing), Augustus , Tiberius , Caligula , Claudius , Nero , Galba , Otho , Vitellius , Vespasian , Titus and Domitian . The book was dedicated to a friend Gaius Septicius Clarus, a Prefect of the Praetorian Guard in 119 .


Other works


Fragments extant

  • ''De Viris Illustribus'' ("On Famous Men" — in the field of literature), to which belong:

  • ---''De Illustribus Grammaticis'' ("Lives Of The Grammarians")

  • ---''De Claris Rhetoribus'' ("Lives Of The Rhetoricians")

  • ---''Lives Of The Poets''

  • Lost

  • ''Lives of Famous Whores''

  • ''Royal Biographies''

  • ''Roma'' ("On Rome"), in four parts:

  • ---''Roman Manners & Customs''

  • ---''The Roman Year''

  • ---''The Roman Festivals''

  • ---''Roman Dress''

  • ''Greek Games''

  • ''On Public Offices''

  • ''On Cicero’s Republic''

  • ''The Physical Defects of Mankind''

  • ''Methods of Reckoning Time''

  • ''An Essay on Nature''

  • ''Greek Terms of Abuse''

  • ''Grammatical Problems''

  • ''Critical Signs Used in Books''



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