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After Agricola’s consulship, Tacitus marries his daughter, binding the historian to the British commander’s house

Agricola 9 states that the consul Agricola betrothed his daughter of excellent promise to Tacitus as a young man and married her after the consulship, then went to Britain. Archival locator: The Latin Library — Tacitus, Agricola at https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tacitus/tac.agri.shtml (The Latin Library). In the causal graph this event strengthens Social Cohesion, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.

Read the full account

Agricola 9 states that the consul Agricola betrothed his daughter of excellent promise to Tacitus as a young man and married her after the consulship, then went to Britain. He did not command Britain by marrying. Archival locator: The Latin Library — Tacitus, Agricola at https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tacitus/tac.agri.shtml (opens in a new tab) (The Latin Library). Independent locator: Britannica — Tacitus at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tacitus-Roman-historian (opens in a new tab) (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Context

Senatorial careers ran on affinity. The match explains access to Agricola’s memory and the pietas claim of the 98 book. Cohesion here is household-political belonging, not a wedding-census. Domitian’s later treatment of Agricola is another row. Julia Agricola as a named wife is poorly documented beyond this sentence.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

Why it matters

Without the marriage there is no Agricola as a son-in-law’s book. High confidence on the claim in Agricola 9; the wife’s inner life is not recovered.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Mixed effects of After Agricola’s consulship, Tacitus marries his daughter, binding the historian to the British commander’s house are separate paths.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Tacitus

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.24 · verified

    Son-in-law of Gnaeus Julius Agricola. The match was arranged at Agricola’s consulship. Complex household fact, not a statute.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactAfter Agricola’s consulship, Tacitus marries his daughter, binding the historian to the British commander’s house
    2. strengthensDriverSocial Cohesion
    3. strengthensIndicators (2)Having a say in government
    Improving path

    impact weight 0.25 · Effect from 1 January 77 · verified

    A documented marriage into a consular British-command household is a modest cohesion path: family as the later Agricola book’s condition. High confidence on the match as Agricola 9 states it.

    • Having a say in government

      via Social Cohesion

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.11 (weight 0.25 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Rule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score

      via Social Cohesion

      Better

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.11 (weight 0.25 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      43.9 Score · 43.9 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      26 readings, 1996–2024: rose from 43 Score to 43.9 Score.

      Normal is zero · any amount = worse

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.The Latin Library — Tacitus, AgricolaThe Latin Library · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Britannica — TacitusEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Conventional date is 77 CE.

Latin Library Agricola 9 is the public Latin of the betrothal and marriage. Britannica independently states the marriage to Agricola’s daughter. Perseus English of the Agricola carries the same. No dowry tablet is cited. Loeb is a later bilingual book.

Established: marriage after Agricola’s consulship as the Agricola states. Not established: a civil-registry day, children besides the implication of a household, or a portrait. Conventional 77. Not the 98 publication.

Shared responsibility is part of After Agricola’s consulship, Tacitus marries his daughter, binding the historian to the British commander’s house. Naming Tacitus does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 0077-01-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorTacitus
  2. contributed toFactAfter Agricola’s consulship, Tacitus marries his daughter, binding the historian to the British commander’s house
  3. strengthensDriverSocial Cohesion
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). After Agricola’s consulship, Tacitus marries his daughter, binding the historian to the British commander’s house. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/tac-marriage-agricola-daughter

https://factrail.ai/facts/tac-marriage-agricola-daughter

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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