Livy



Famous historian Titus Livius (known more informally as "Livy") was born sometime between 64 BC and 59 BC in Patavium, Venetia. Very little is known of his life, other than that most of it had to have been spent in Rome. His life's work was a history of Rome that was written in 142 books. Unfortunately, those after Book 45 are known only from short fragments and summaries of other parts, as Books 11--20 and 46--142 were either lost or destroyed. Livy was different from his predecessors, as he was a historian who played no part in traditional partisan politics. He presented history in a way that portrayed the character and morality of Rome rather than the traditional portrayal through politics. His style developed into a Latin prose that suited his subject matter well. He died in Patavium in the year AD 17.