With clarity and vivid intensity, Tacitus's recounts the pivotal events in Roman history from the years shortly before the death of Augustus to the death of Nero in 68 AD, including the reign of terror under the corrupt Tiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero, and the wars, poisonings, scandals, conspiracies, and murders that were part of imperial life. Despite Tacitus's claim that they were written objectively, the is sharply critical of the emperors' excesses and fearful for the future of imperial Rome, while also filled with a longing for its past glories.