Cluvius Rufus was a Roman senator, governor and historian who was mentioned on several occasions by Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus and Plutarch. During the reign of Caligula, Cluvius Rufus was described by Josephus as a senator of "consular dignity".^[1] During Nero's early reign, he was called an ex-consul by Suetonius^[2] and during Nero's late reign and in the year of the four emperors, Cluvius was the governor of Spain. Tacitus said "Spain was under the government of Cluvius Rufus, an eloquent man, who had all the accomplishments of civil life, but who was without experience in war."^[3] Cluvius is said to have pushed senators to demand more power from the emperor during the reign of Vitellius.^[4] Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus ( 69/75 - after 130), also known as Suetonius, was a prominent Roman historian and biographer. ... A representation of Flavius Josephus, a woodcutting in John C. Winstons translation of his works Josephus (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE)[1], who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus[2], was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, 12 – January 24, 41 AD), most commonly known as Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from AD 37 to AD 41. ...

Cluvius Rufus was a important historian whose writing and testimony, though now lost, certainly shaped modern understanding of first century Rome. He was a contemporary of Caligula, Claudius and Nero, but little is known of the extent of his work except that it related to events during the reign of these emperors. Cluvius was one the primary sources for Tacitus' Annals and Histories, Suetonius' The Lives of Twelve Caesars , Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, Plutarch's The Parallel Lives and probably for other later historians as well. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, 12 – January 24, 41 AD), most commonly known as Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from AD 37 to AD 41. ... For other persons named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... Nero[1] Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, AD 37 – June 9, AD 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (54–68). ...

Cluvius Rufus is mentioned in: Josephus Antiquities of the Jews XIX.1.13; Suetonius The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 21; Pliny the Younger, Epistulae IX.19; Plutarch The Parallel Lives, Life of Otho 3; Tacitus Annals, XII.20 and XIV.2; Tacitus Histories, I.8, II.58, II.65, III.65, IV.39 and IV.43

Notes

1. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XIX.1.13
2. ^ Suetonius The Lives of Twelve Caesars Life of Nero 21
3. ^ Tacitus, Histories I.8
4. ^ Tacitus, Histories IV.43