The books 1-3 of the Histories, unmatched in breathtaking tension in ancient historiography, recount the bloody events of the Year of the Three Emperors, which brought the Empire to the brink of disaster. With great power and an incomparably dense, pointed, often ironic style, the atmosphere of civil war and dictatorship is vividly portrayed, as well as the unleashing of uncontrollable forces that erupt from a collective in times of insecurity. Every line reflects an intimate knowledge of an era, acquired by a bearer of keen intuition in politically tumultuous times. These euphoric lines can indeed be found in a specialized lexicon, the renowned Lexicon of World Literature. What more can be said to praise this unique text? The translation has been carefully modernized by Meinolf Vielberg.