Tacitus

About Tacitus

Publius Cornelius Tacitus (c. 54 – c. 120 AD) was a highly regarded Roman historian and orator, whose high ranking of #831 on the HPI reflects his profound and enduring influence on the study of imperial Rome. His major works, the *Annals* and the *Histories*, provide an invaluable, though often cynical, narrative account of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero. Tacitus is renowned for his penetrating psychological insights into the emperors and the political machinations of the Roman elite, securing his place as one of the most significant primary sources for this critical period of Western civilization.

In the modern digital landscape of 2025, Tacitus demonstrates an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, suggesting his current online visibility closely mirrors his historical importance. His annualized Wikipedia views stand at 371K. This level of attention, while balanced, is notably less than figures of lesser historical stature; for example, he receives roughly four times the attention of Juan Carlos I of Spain (#437 importance) who garnered only 95K views. Tacitus's continued, modest presence suggests that while classical history retains relevance, the immediacy of more recent figures continues to draw more general internet traffic.

Looking at temporal trends, the data indicates a slight cooling of interest, with a -2.7% year-over-year change in views and a -5% momentum decline comparing Q1 to Q3 of 2025, signaling a subtle but measurable drift from immediate online engagement.