Velleius Paterculus

A Roman commander’s comprehensive history of Rome.

The histories of Velleius Paterculus chronicle the story of Rome and Roman culture from the fall of Troy to AD 30. Although his work’s title, proem, and opening chapters are lost along with the narrative from Romulus to the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC, Velleius provides much valuable information, especially about the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius (30 BC–AD 37), for which he provides our only extant historical depiction by a contemporary witness. Velleius was also an active participant: after service under both emperors as a military tribune in Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, and Asia Minor and as a cavalry officer and legatus in Germany and Pannonia, he joined Tiberius at his triumph in… Keep Reading