The first few chapters of this section are missing. As with many of his contemporaries, Suetonius took omens seriously and carefully includes reports of omens portending imperial births, accessions, and deaths. During the book on Nero, Suetonius does mention Christians (see Historicity of Jesus). Suetonius made a reference in this work to 'Chrestus', which could refer to Christ. For example, Suetonius is the main source on the lives of Caligula, his uncle Claudius, and the heritage of Vespasian (the relevant sections of the Annals by his contemporary Tacitus having been lost). It mentions details which other sources do not. The book still provides valuable information on the heritage, personal habits, physical appearance, lives, and political careers of the first Roman emperors. He was forced to rely on secondhand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of the letters of Augustus, which had been gathered earlier) and does not quote the emperor. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. That resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Several important events are omitted.Īlthough he was never a senator himself, Suetonius took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the princeps, as well as the senators' views of the emperor. The book heavily relies on hearsay and rumor, and at times the author subjectively expresses his opinion and knowledge. The book can be described as racy, overly sensationalist, packed with gossip, drama, and sometimes humor. The book discusses the significant and critical period of the Principate from the end of the Republic to the reign of Domitian comparisons are often made with Tacitus, whose surviving works document a similar period. The Twelve Caesars was considered very significant in antiquity and remains a primary source on Roman history. It was dedicated to a friend, the Praetorian prefect Gaius Septicius Clarus. The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius, at that time Hadrian's personal secretary, and is the largest among his surviving writings. 'About the Life of the Caesars'), commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.

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