A Roman historian who lived from around AD 55 to 120.
His Life and Writings
We do not know much about Tacitus's personal life. However, his writings give us important information about life in Rome during the first century AD. His five main works are:
Dialogus de Oratoribus (around AD 77)
The Life of Agricola (about his father-in-law) (around AD 98)
Germania (around AD 98)
Histories (around AD 116)
Annals (around AD 116)
Writing About Christians
In Annals, Tacitus referred to the persecution of the Christians in Rome in AD 64. The emperor Nero blamed Christians for the fire that he had ordered set, which destroyed much of Rome. Tacitus believed the Christians to be innocent. However, he referred to their faith as “a detestable superstition.” He did not think highly of their beliefs. He named Christ as the founder of this sect. Tacitus stated that Jesus was crucified “in the reign of Emperor Tiberius by the Procurator Pontius Pilate.”
Tacitus also said that Nero accused the Roman Christians not only of setting fire to Rome but also of “hatred of the human race.” Nero had some of them thrown to dogs. He ordered others to be crucified. He had others burned in the imperial garden. Tacitus's writings are valuable because they confirm some events that we read about in the New Testament, including Jesus's death on the cross.