"Cornelius Tacitus, Rome's greatest historian and the last major writer of classical Latin prose, produced his first two books in AD 98. He was inspired to take up his pen when the assassination of Domitian ended 'fifteen years of enforced silence'. These first products were brief: the biography of his late father-in-law Julius Agricola and an account of Rome's most dangerous enemies, the Germans. As governor for seven years, Agricola had completed the conquest of Britain and much of Tacitus' biography is devoted to the country and its people. Germany is the only surviving specimen from the ancient world of an ethnographic study. Each of these early works has had immense influence on our perception of Rome and the northern 'barbarians'. " "This newly translated edition reflects recent research in Roman-British and Roman-German history, including recently discovered evidence on Tacitus' early career. "--Jacket.