Direct documentation of the Roman Empire and its decline is surprisingly sparse. The best sources for the first century A.D., Tacitus and Suetonius, both make grim if informative reading. Tacitus, lauded by many as the best Roman historian for his concision, attention to detail, and reliability, is a must-read for anyone wanting a dispassionate account of Roman culture and politics at the beginning of the Christian era. The surviving portions of Tacitus' two magisterial works on Roman history, The Annals and The Histories, are available complete in a Modern Library Classics paperback edition. ...
