Annalists (from Latin annus, year; hence annales, sc. libri, annual records), is the name given to a class of writers on Roman history, the period of whose literary activity lasted from the time of the Second Punic War to that of Sulla. They wrote the history of Rome from the earliest times (in most cases) down to their own days, the events of which were treated in much greater detail. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin Roma) is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. ... The Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome from 218 to 202 BC. It was the second of three major wars fought between the Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic, then still confined to the Italian Peninsula. ... This page is about the Roman dictator Sulla, for the Brythonic goddess sometimes called Sulla, see Sul. ...

For the earlier period their authorities were state and family records—above all, the annales maximi (or annales pontificum), the official chronicle of Rome, in which the notable occurrences of each year from the foundation of the city were set down by the Pontifex Maximus. Although these annals were no doubt destroyed at the time of the burning of Rome by the Gauls, they were restored as far as possible and continued until the pontificate of P. Mucius Scaevola, by whom they were finally published in eighty books. Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) Originally the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the pre-Christian Roman religion. ... Gallia (in English Gaul) is the Latin name for the region of western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... In Roman mythology, Mucius (also Gaius Mucius Scaevola) was a hero who saved Rome from the Etruscans, led by Lars Porsena. ...

Two generations of these annalists have been distinguished—an older and a younger. The older, which extends to 150 BC, set forth, in bald, unattractive language, without any pretensions to style, but with a certain amount of trustworthiness, the most important events of each successive year. Cicero (De Oratore, ii. 12. 53), comparing these writers with the old Ionic logographers, says that they paid no attention to ornament, and considered the only merits of a writer to be intelligibility and conciseness. Their annals were a mere compilation of facts. Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC - 150s BC - 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC Years: 155 BC 154 BC 153 BC 152 BC 151 BC - 150 BC - 149 BC 148 BC... Cicero - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

The younger generation, in view of the requirements and criticism of a reading public, cultivated the art of composition and rhetorical embellishment. As a general rule the annalists wrote in a spirit of uncritical patriotism, which led them to minimize or gloss over such disasters as the conquest of Rome by Porsena and the compulsory payment of ransom to the Gauls, and to flatter the people by exaggerated accounts of Roman prowess, dressed up in fanciful language. At first they wrote in Greek, partly because a national style was not yet formed, and partly because Greek was the fashionable language amongst the educated, although Latin versions were probably published as well.

The first of the annalists, the father of Roman history, as he has been called, was Q. Fabius Pictor; contemporary with him was Lucius Cincius Alimentus, who flourished during the Hannibalic war (not to be confused with L. Cincius, the author of various political and antiquarian treatises (de Fastis, de Comitiis, de Priscis Verbis), who lived in the Augustan age, to which period Mommsen, considering them a later fabrication, refers the Greek annals of L. Cincius Alimentus). Like Fabius Pictor, he wrote in Greek. He was taken prisoner by Hannibal (Livy xxi. 38), who is said to have given him details of the crossing of the Alps. His work embraced the history of Rome from its foundation down to his own days. With M. Porcius Cato historical composition in Latin began, and a livelier interest was awakened in the history of Rome. Quintus Fabius Pictor (c. ... Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (30 November 1817 - 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ... Hannibals feat in crossing the Alps with war elephants passed into European legend: a fresco detail, ca 1510, Capitoline Museum, Rome Hannibal (from Punic, literally Baal is merciful to me, 247 BC – 182 BC) was a politician, statesman and military commander of ancient Carthage, best known for his achievements... Bust of Livy Titus Livius (around 59 BC - 17 AD), known as Livy in English, wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, from its founding (traditionally dated to 753 BC). ... Marcus Porcius Cato (Latin: M·PORCIVS·M·F·CATO) (234 - 149 BC), Roman statesman, surnamed The Censor, Sapiens, Priscus, or Major (the Elder), to distinguish him from Cato the Younger (his great-grandson), was born at Tusculum. ...

Among the principal writers of this class who succeeded Cato, the following may be mentioned:

• L. Cassius Hemina (about 146), in the fourth book of his Annals, wrote on the Second Punic War. His researches went back to very early times; Pliny (Nat. Hist. xiii. 13 [27]) calls him vetustissimus auctor annalium.
• L. Calpurnius Piso, surnamed Frugi, wrote seven books of annals, relating the history of the city from its foundation down to his own times. Livy regards him as a less trustworthy authority than Fabius Pictor, and Niebuhr considers him the first to introduce systematic forgeries into Roman history.
• Q. Claudius Quadrigarius (about 80 BC) wrote a history, in at least twenty-three books, which began with the conquest of Rome by the Gauls and went down to the death of Sulla or perhaps later. He was freely used by Livy in part of his work (from the sixth book onwards). A long fragment is preserved in Aulus Gellius (ix. 13), giving an account of the single combat between Manlius Torquatus and the Gaul. His language was antiquated and his style dry, but his work was considered important.
• Valerius Antias, a younger contemporary of Quadrigarius, wrote the history of Rome from the earliest times, in a voluminous work consisting of seventy-five books. He is notorious for his wilful exaggeration, both in narrative and numerical statements. For instance, he asserts the number of the Sabine virgins to have been exactly 527; again, in a certain year when no Greek or Latin writers mention any important campaign, Antias speaks of a big battle with enormous casualties. Nevertheless, Livy at first made use of him as one of his chief authorities, until he became convinced of his untrustworthiness.
• G. Licinius Macer (died 66), who has been called the last of the annalists, wrote a voluminous work, which, although he paid great attention to the study of his authorities, was too rhetorical, and exaggerated the achievements of his own family. Having been convicted of extortion, he committed suicide (Cicero, De Legibus, i. 2, Brutus, 67; Plutarch, Cicero, 9).

The writers mentioned dealt with Roman history as a whole; some of the annalists, however, confined themselves to shorter periods: Events Change of era name from Yongxi (1st year) to Benchu era of the Chinese Han Dynasty Change of emperor from Han Zhidi to Han Huandi of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births April 11 - Septimius Severus, Roman emperor Deaths Han Zhidi, emperor of Chinese Han Dynasty, poisoned Categories: 146 ... There are two famous persons named Pliny: Pliny the Elder, a Roman nobleman, scientist and historian who died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD The great-nephew of the former, Pliny the Younger, a statesman, orator, and writer who lived between 62 AD and 113 AD. This... Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius, Roman annalist, wrote a history, in at least twenty-three books, which began with the conquest of Rome by the Gauls and went on to the death of Sulla or perhaps later. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC - 80s BC - 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC Years: 85 BC 84 BC 83 BC 82 BC 81 BC - 80 BC - 79 BC 78 BC 77... Aulus Gellius (c. ... Valerius Antias, Roman annalist, a younger contemporary of Quadrigarius, wrote the history of Rome from the earliest times, in a voluminous work consisting seventy-five books. ... Gaius Licinius Macer (d. ... For other uses, see number 66. ... Mestrius Plutarch (c. ...

• L. Caelius Antipater (about 120) limited himself to the Second Punic War. His work was overloaded with rhetorical embellishment, which he was the first to introduce into Roman history. He was regarded as the most careful writer on the war with Hannibal, and one who did not allow himself to be blinded by partiality in considering the evidence of other writers (Cicero, De Oratore, ii. 12). Livy made great use of him in his third decade.
• Sempronius Asellio (about 100 BC), military tribune of Scipio Africanus at the siege of Numantia, composed Rerum Gestarum Libri in at least fourteen books. As he himself took part in the events he describes, his work was a kind of memoirs. He was the first of his class who endeavoured to trace the causes of events, instead of contenting himself with a bare statement of facts.
• L. Cornelius Sisenna (119–67), legate of Pompey in the war against the pirates, lost his life in an expedition against Crete. He wrote twenty-three books on the period between the Social War and the dictatorship of Sulla. His work was commended by Sallust (Jugurtha, 95), who, however, blames him for not speaking out sufficiently. Cicero remarks upon his fondness for archaisms (Brutus, 74. 259). Sisenna also translated the tales of Aristides of Miletus, and is supposed by some to have written a ccmmentary on Plautus. The autobiography of Sulla may also be mentioned.

For other uses, see number 120. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC - 100s BC - 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC Years: 105 BC 104 BC 103 BC 102 BC 101 BC - 100 BC - 99 BC 98 BC 97 BC 96 BC 95... Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major (Latin: P·CORNELIVS·P·F·L·N·SCIPIO·AFRICANVS¹) (236 - 183 BC) was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic. ... Numantia was a town in Hispania (modern-day Spain), which for a long time resisted conquest by Romans. ... Lucius Cornelius Sisenna (circa 120 BC - 67 BC) was a Roman soldier and historian. ... This article refers to the General of the Roman republic. ... Greece and Crete Crete, sometimes spelled Krete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Social War (also called the Italian War) was a war from 91 - 88 BC between the Romans and the other cities in Italy. ... Sallust (Gaius Sallustius Crispus) (86-34 BC), Roman historian, belonging to a well-known plebeian family, was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines. ... Note: This article is about Aristides the statesman. ... Titus Maccius Plautus was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. ...

References

• C. W. Nitzsch, Die römische Annalistik (1873)
• H. Peter, Zur Kritik der Quellen der dlteren romischen Geschichte (1879)
• L. O. Brocker, Moderne Quellenforscher und antike Geschichtschreiber (1882)
• fragments in H. Peter, Historicorum Romanorum Reliquiae (1870, 1906), and Historicorum Romanorum Fragmenta (1883);
• Pauly-Wissowa, Realencydopadie, art. "Annales"
• the histories of Roman Literature by M. Schanz and Teuffel-Schwabe
• Mommsen, Hist. of Rome (Eng. tr.), bk. ii. ch. 9, bk. iii. ch. 14, bk. iv. ch. 13, bk. v. ch. 12
• C. Wachsmuth, Einleitung in das Studium der alien Geschichte (1895)
• H. Peter, bibliography of the subject in Bursian's Jahresbericht, cxxvi. (1906)

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), contend supporters, in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...