Life of the twelve Césars

the Life of the twelve Césars (in Latin Of uita duodecim Caesarum libri ) is a work of Suétone, author Latin of the Early empire.

They are the biographies of the twelve first imperatores of Rome having carried the name and the title of César, of Jules César with Domitien.

Each biography does not follow a chronological diagram, but is organized in a succession of headings: family origin, birth and career before the advent, its advent and predict them heralding its advent, exerted magistratures, military campaigns, legislative and legal work, generosities towards the people, physical description and nature, died and predict heralding its death, etc. One generally underlines the wealth and sometimes the quality of information of Suétone, which had access to imperial files because of its functions. The succession of the biographies gives a continuous history of the Roman Empire of the end of the Republic at the end of the dynasty flavienne.

It does not remain about it less than Suétone is shown sometimes not very critical and does not hesitate to hawk rumors and calumnies. By doing this it expresses also the opinions of part of the senate and knights which were associated for him, and often presents the imperial mode under its darkest day. Its biographies must thus be read with full knowledge of the facts: they are directed portraits, skewed. The posterity of this work was immense and largely contributed to create the stereotype of sanguinary Roman Emperors, discharged, declining or insane, in particular for some outstanding figures: Tibère and its vices in the island of Capri, Caligula and its madnesses, Néron etc

Suétone was the model of a historical literary kind, the series of imperial biographies, which was taken again by its continuators (Hérodien, Aurelius Victor, the Histoire Auguste, etc)

Source

Suétone, translation of Henri Ailloud, Lives of the twelve Césars , the book of pocket, Paris, 1961n

See too

Suétone, author of Life of the twelve Césars

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