Essay Sample on Publius Tacitus: Unveiling the Roman Geography of Germania

Introduction

Publius Tacitus was a historian as well as a senator in the Rome Empire. Important to note is the fact that Germania was a Roman term that was used to refer to the geographical north-central Europe region which was inhabited mostly by the Germanic people. The territory occupied the areas of Danube and Main in the south to the Baltic Sea. The Germania was written in 98AD and was initially entitled on the Origin and Situation of the Germans. The paper focuses on a detailed analysis of the historical document Tacitus Germania. By critically analyzing the past document, the paper seeks to analyze lessons learned from Tacitus's account about society, economy, and politics as well as the culture of the Germanic people in the first century. Besides, the paper critically analyzes some of the principal values that governed the German society.

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The Germania by Tacitus indicates that other neighboring nations did not influence the Germanic people and that they kept themselves. However, that does not mean that they did not experience different cultures; they got traditions from other countries as evidenced when they sang songs as they advanced to battle. Besides, the culture of Germania was influenced by Greek mythology but remained unchanged by outside influences. Tacitus had a perception that the Germanic people were straightforward and simple, and their social classes included slaves, the poor, as well as the rich. Some of the lessons learned from Tacitus about the politics of the Germania people is that they remained united and were not affected by external influences. Kingship was the main element that united the Germanic societies which incorporated several people such as a judge, military leader, a lawmaker, and a high priest. The politics of the Germanic people were controlled by the monarchy that was elective where the king was elected by free men who came from eligible candidates among the king's family. Therefore, one of the greatest lesson from Tacitus account about the society, politics, and culture of the Germanic people is unity. Another great lesson learned from Tacitus's accounts about the politics of the Germanic people is the fact that generals and kings lead by example and not authority.

Tacitus accounts are descriptive of the economy, society, culture, and politics of the Romans of the first century in various ways. For instance, from a societal point of view, Tacitus in his account describes that the Germanic people were free from all forms of taint intermarriages with individuals from foreign countries. Besides, in his accounts, Tacitus described the culture and society of the Germanic people as one that appeared to be distinct and of unmixed races. Also, Tacitus's account on society and politics is descriptive for instance, when he explains about the nature of kingships where kings among the Germanic people do not have arbitrary powers, and they are seen to be responsible because they lead by example and not authority. Also, Tacitus describes the society and culture of the Germanic people in his accounts by explaining that they believe that sex has a particular way of sanctifying as well as they do not despise their counsels neither do they make light of their answers. There are various ways in which Tacitus descriptions of the Germans implicitly comments on the Romans, such as by the invasion of Romans by the Germanic people. For instance, by the time of Julius Caesar, the Germanic people had reached the Rhine area in the Roman borders. Besides, his descriptions implicitly comment on the Romans by describing how they began to invade the Roman Empire. The Germanic people started fleeing the Huns that had previously moved into their lands and even went ahead to destroy everything. It was during the period when the Germanic people were running away from the Huns that they found themselves moving through several provinces in Rome, Spain, Gaul, as well as parts of North Africa. Several Germanic tribes attempted to take control of the whole of the Roman Empire.

Scholars in the modern world have continued to argue that Tacitus people from the Germanic tribes to criticize some aspects of his own Roman community implicitly. Some of the evidence that supports the scholar's point of view include the barbaric attacks on Rome as a result of Hun's invasion of Europe. Also, modern scholars argue that Tacitus was able to implicitly criticize aspects of the Roman culture by relating that the ancient songs that were sung by the Romans were descended and had originated from the sons of Mannus, son of the Earth as well as the god Tiesto. Important to note is the fact that Julius Caesar had described the Germania people as pastoralists. However, both the horses and cattle of the Germania people were of poor quality as compared to the Roman standards.

Given that Romans were the intended audience of Tacitus, he would not make explicit criticisms of the Roman culture for various reasons. For instance, Tacitus would not make criticisms of the Roman culture because some of the traditions that were being practiced by the Germania people had been borrowed from the Roman culture. Besides, Tacitus would not agree to make explicit criticisms of the Roman culture because some of the Germania tribes lived within the Roman provinces. Therefore, since Tacitus intended audience was the Roman people, he would not have criticized them. Besides, if he did criticize, they would not have taken an interest in his artistic work. Some of the statements of Tacitus that I would regard as reliable as for instance "the Germanic people chose their generals on merit" which means that the people who led them in battles were selected on merit. However, some statements made by Tacitus were more suspect such as during a battle, "they would pass whole days on the hearth by the fire."

Tacitus regarded the Germanic people as distinctly inferior to the Romans in various ways. For instance, He regarded that they were cowards and would be defeated in a battle by the Romans. However, that was not the case since the Germania people were more organized and lead by able generals who made it even possible for them to invade some of the Roman provinces. Regarding the fall of the Roman Empire several centuries later, Tacitus would have responded in disbelief and would not foresee it since he considered the Roman Empire as a strong one. Some of the similarities that I notice between Tacitus and Herodotus's descriptions regarding the civilization of neighboring Greeks include the ability to understand the communities thoroughly as well as strong defensive approaches to their communities. Both Tacitus and Herodotus wrote their histories with clear goals in mind of what they wanted to achieve.

Bibliography

Tacitus, Cornelius, Alfred John Church, and William Jackson Brodribb. The Agricola and Germania of Tacitus: with a revised text, English notes, and maps. Macmillan, 1886.

Ward-Perkins, Bryan. The fall of Rome: and the end of civilization. Oxford University Press, 2006.