| Author | Pliny the Elder |
|---|---|
| Language | Latin |
| Subject | History of the Roman–Germanic wars |
| Genre | Historiography |
Publication date | 1st century AD (posthumously) |
| Publication place | Roman Empire |
| Pages | 20 volumes |
Bella Germaniae (English: The History of the Germanic Wars) was a twenty-volume historical work written by the Roman author and commander Pliny the Elder. It is now a lost literary work. The history chronicled the Roman–Germanic wars during the 1st century AD and was written from the perspective of a Roman who had served in Germania.[1]
Bella Germaniae was a significant and respected source, used by later Roman historians such as Plutarch, Tacitus, and Suetonius. Tacitus, in particular, is believed to have used it as a primary source for his own works on the Germanic peoples and wars, including De origine et situ Germanorum and the Annales.[2][3]
Background and composition
Pliny the Elder began his military service as a junior officer in Germania Inferior around AD 46. He spent a significant portion of his early career on the German frontier, participating in the Roman conquest of the Chauci and serving under commanders such as Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo and Publius Pomponius Secundus.[3] This direct, firsthand experience provided him with extensive knowledge of the region, its peoples, and the ongoing military conflicts.
According to his nephew, Pliny the Younger, the inspiration for writing the history came from a dream. While serving in Germania, Pliny dreamt that the spirit of the Roman general Drusus Nero, who had died campaigning in the region, begged him to save his memory from oblivion.[1] This prompted Pliny to begin what would become a monumental history of all the wars between the Romans and the Germani.[3]
Pliny seems to have been aware that his account might be controversial. He deliberately reserved the work for publication after his death, entrusting the manuscript to his heirs. He explained this decision in the preface to his Naturalis Historia:
I have determined to commit the charge of it to my heirs, lest I should have been suspected, during my lifetime, of having been unduly influenced by ambition. By this means I confer an obligation on those who occupy the same ground with myself; and also on posterity, who, I am aware, will contend with me, as I have done with my predecessors.[4]
Content and scope
The work was a comprehensive history in 20 volumes. It was designed as a continuation of the historical narrative of Aufidius Bassus's Libri Belli Germanici ("The War with the Germani").[3] While the exact chronological scope is unknown due to its loss, it is believed to have covered the Roman-Germanic conflicts from where Bassus left off, likely extending through the reigns of Nero and up to the time of Vespasian.
Legacy and loss
Bella Germaniae was a primary authority on the Germanic wars for the generation of historians who followed Pliny. It is the only source expressly cited in the first six books of the Annales of Tacitus, and it is considered a principal source for his ethnographic work, Germania.[2] Suetonius and Plutarch also followed Pliny's history as an authority for their own writings.[3]
Despite its importance, the work did not survive antiquity. It was likely supplanted by the more concise and stylistically influential works of Tacitus, which covered much of the same subject matter. By the early 5th century, the Roman statesman and man of letters Symmachus expressed little hope of finding a copy, indicating that the work was already exceptionally rare or completely lost by that time.[5]
See also
References
- 1 2 Pliny the Younger (26 September 2022). "III.5 To Baebius Macer". Letters.
- 1 2 Gudeman, Alfred (1900). "The Sources of the Germania of Tacitus". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 31: 93–111. doi:10.2307/282642. JSTOR 282642.
- 1 2 3 4 5 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Sandys, John Edwin (1911). "Pliny the Elder". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 841–844.
- ↑ Pliny (1938). "Preface, 20". Natural History.
- ↑ Symmachus. "IV.18". Letters.
