The rulers of ancient Rome in the description of Suetonius

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Among the galaxy of all Roman historians of the author, as Suetonius, is not particularly appreciated.He prefers to Tacitus, or Plutarch.Probably, because the rulers of ancient Rome in its description appear "dismembered" black and white, evil and righteous, and the author takes it for granted.He does not fall into unnecessary rhetoric and begins to speculate on how such opposites could fit in one person.Suetonius also criticized for the fact that he does not like to analyze the political context of the events, but it introduces the reader to the various details of the life of the Caesars until anecdotal.Indeed, the historian is not like the others.And whether it was him?Each author dealing description biographies, have their own purpose.Was she in Suetonius.

historian worked in ancient Rome during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.He became famous as a patron and protector of the Muses.Taking advantage of this, the historian begins his brilliant career at his court as an office clerk and then organizes reports from the provinces.In this position he was able to work with archives and use them to compose, to glorify him through the centuries.It is "The Twelve Caesars" - a biographical list, where a succession of rulers before us are Roman imperial times.And, on this basis, we may well see in quite a serious historian Suetonius, who responded to their relevance to contemporary issues.

In those years, the Romans began to analyze the three hundred years of its reign of emperors.It was very important because it is a political order allowed this great state for a long time to maintain a balance of power between Caesar and the Senate.The author of this system is August.It was finally fixed when the Flavian dynasty, and it was then that the Roman historians saw that it was the most bloodless and an acceptable management option as "promiscuous" and a huge country.Therefore, they tried to justify his work in the imperial power structure of ancient Rome, in spite of the fact that there has traditionally been very high reverence to the republican form of government.

However, it was a very complex issue.Despite the desire for order, the problem of succession to the throne after August remained very tense.This is reflected in the assessment of its predecessors.During the life of the ruler he was flattered and fawned, and after his death began to denigrate irrepressible.Modern historians is very difficult now to understand that this sea of ​​bloody strife and praise, which were characterized by the rulers of ancient Rome then, is the truth, and that - propaganda.So Suetonius tried to approach this problem without too much moralizing and just see where the good deeds of rulers prevailed, and where - the evil.Therefore, for example, creating such a biography, which became the talk of the town, the emperor like Nero, he alone describes his good deeds, and separately - that is considered a crime.

historian also made a very interesting observation that those and other acts of the rulers of ancient Rome made on the basis of the same reasons.But to prove it, he sets out the facts and just the facts, apart from the policy.So do his motives are not very interested - the result is important for the historian, with which completes its rule once the emperor.For it is not interesting psychological "digging" in the soul of each ruler, and the details, "gossip", chance - that was close to then-reader, yes indeed, interested and modern.It is not popular in our chronicles social life?Fun and selection of interesting facts - that's the main historical method, which was guided by Suetonius, portraying their Caesars.