Suetonius

==Life==
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was probably born about AD 69, a date deduced from his remarks describing himself as a "young man" 20 years after [[Nero]]'s death. His place of birth is disputed, but most scholars place it in [[Hippo Regius]], a small north African town in [[Numidia]], in modern-day [[Algeria]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=[[Lives of the Caesars]] |volume=1 |author=Suetonius |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1997 |location=Cambridge |page=4}}</ref> It is certain that Suetonius came from a family of moderate social position, that his father, Suetonius Laetus,<ref>{{cite book |author=Suetonius |title=Vita Othonis |others=10, 1}}</ref> was a tribune belonging to the [[equestrian order]] (''[[tribunus angusticlavius]]'') in [[Legio XIII Gemina]], and that Suetonius was educated when schools of rhetoric flourished in Rome.

Suetonius was a close friend of [[Roman Senate|senator]] and letter-writer [[Pliny the Younger]]. Pliny describes him as "quiet and studious, a man dedicated to writing". Pliny helped him buy a small property and interceded with the Emperor [[Trajan]] to grant Suetonius immunities usually granted to a father of three, the ''[[ius trium liberorum]]'', because his marriage was childless.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pliny the Younger |author-link=Pliny the Younger |title=[[Epistulae (Pliny)|Letters]] |chapter=10.95 |chapter-url=http://attalus.org/old/pliny10b.html#95}}</ref> Through Pliny, Suetonius came into favour with [[Trajan]] and [[Hadrian]]. Suetonius may have served on Pliny's staff when Pliny was imperial governor (''legatus Augusti pro praetore'') of [[Bithynia and Pontus]] (northern [[Asia Minor]]) between 110 and 112. Under Trajan he served as secretary of studies (precise functions are uncertain) and director of Imperial archives. Under Hadrian, he became the emperor's secretary. Hadrian later dismissed Suetonius for his alleged affair with the empress [[Vibia Sabina]].<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Suetonius Tranquillus, Gaius|volume=26}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=[[Historia Augusta]] |author=Hadrianus |author-link=Hadrian |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Hadrian/1*.html#11 |chapter=11:3 |quote=claims that Hadrian "removed from office Septicius Clarus, the prefect of the guard, and Suetonius Tranquillus, the imperial secretary, and many others besides, because without his consent they had been conducting themselves toward his wife, Sabina, in a more informal fashion than the etiquette of the court demanded."}}</ref>