Tacitus, Annals, 15.20­-23, 33­-45. Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary, 2013a

The assigned portion of text begins in medias res. We parachute right
into the middle of a meeting of the Roman senate that took place towards
the end of the year 62 (15.20.1). Tacitus’ account of it began in the previous
paragraph (15.19) and continues until 15.22.1. The set text carries on for a
bit, covering the end of AD 62 and the beginning of AD 63 (15.22.2 – 15.23),
before vaulting over nine sections (15.24 – 15.32). We re-enter the narrative
in 15.33 (the beginning of AD 64) and are then asked to read continuously
until the end of 15.45. The text breaks off with the unsuccessful attempt
by Nero to have his old tutor Seneca poisoned. There is a certain rationale
behind this stopping and starting. Those in charge of setting the text
excised with surgical precision those portions of the Annals that cover the
military situation in the Near East, specifically Rome’s ongoing conflict
with Parthia (15.1–18; 24–32). The focus of the assigned portion is squarely
on Italy and Rome – the city, the senate, and, not least, the imperial court,
with the corresponding personnel, in particular the emperor Nero. 66
Annals 15.20–23
Thematically, the four chapters of Annals 15.20–23 can be divided as follows:
i. 20.1–22.1: Report of a senate meeting that took place towards
the end of AD 62 (continuing on from 15.19).
ii. 22.2: Review of striking prodigies that occurred in the year
AD 62.
iii. 23.1–4: Start of Tacitus’ account of AD 63, with extensive coverage
of the birth and death of Nero’s daughter Claudia Augusta.
66 This cut-and-paste approach, while understandable, results in a distortion of Tacitus’
overall picture of the Neronian principate. In particular the geopolitical dimension of
his text, the way in which he interweaves centre and periphery, Rome and the world,
disappears from view. It is important to bear in mind here that Nero’s reign ended when
provincial governors decided to march on Rome.