Annals (Latin annales, from annus, "year") are histories organized year by year, a core form of Roman historiography; the most famous example is Tacitus's Annals, and on AP Latin you meet Tacitus as the historian Pliny the Younger addresses in Letter 6.16 about the eruption of Vesuvius.
An annal is history written year by year. The word comes from annus ("year"), and the format goes back to early Roman records that logged each year's events under the names of that year's consuls. By the imperial period, "annals" had become a recognized branch of historiography, one of the major genres of Latin literature the CED expects you to know alongside epistles, epigrams, and didactic poetry.
The famous example is the Annals of Tacitus, which covers the emperors from Tiberius through Nero (14-68 CE). For AP Latin, Tacitus matters less as an author you translate and more as a person in the story. Pliny the Younger wrote Letter 6.16, your required Unit 2 reading, to Tacitus, because Tacitus had asked for an eyewitness account of Pliny the Elder's death during the eruption of Vesuvius for use in his historical writing. So when you read 6.16, you're reading a letter that was always meant to feed into history. Pliny even says as much, expecting his uncle's death to gain immortality through Tacitus's pen.
This term lives in Unit 2 (Pliny's Letters: Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius) and supports two learning objectives directly. AP Latin 2.1.D asks you to know who Pliny the Younger, Pliny the Elder, and Tacitus are and how they're connected, and Tacitus's identity as Rome's great annalistic historian is the whole reason Letter 6.16 exists. AP Latin 2.1.N asks you to describe features of genre, and the CED's essential knowledge lists historiography among the major genres of Latin literature. Knowing what annals are lets you say something smart about genre in 6.16: Pliny is writing an epistle, but he's writing it for a historian, so the letter sits at the crossroads of two genres. That tension explains why the letter is so carefully crafted (LO 2.1.O notes Pliny heavily revised his letters before publication).
Keep studying AP Latin Unit 2
Pliny the Younger and Tacitus (Unit 2)
Letter 6.16 only exists because Tacitus, the historian of the Annals and Histories, asked Pliny for material. The whole framing of the letter, including Pliny's hope that his uncle will live forever through Tacitus's writing, depends on you knowing Tacitus is a historian. That's exactly what LO 2.1.D tests.
Genre: epistles vs. historiography (Unit 2)
LO 2.1.N wants you to describe genre features, and 6.16 is the perfect case study. It's a published letter (epistle) that doubles as raw material for annalistic history. Pliny narrates events in careful sequence, almost like a historian would, because he knows where the account is headed.
Allusion (Unit 2)
References to influential people and literary works (LO 2.1.O) include Pliny's nod to Tacitus's historical project at the very opening of 6.16. Recognizing that allusion tells you why Pliny insists his uncle's death deserves to be recorded.
Emperor Trajan (Unit 2)
Pliny served as a magistrate under Trajan, and Tacitus was writing his great histories during the same era. Keeping the timeline straight (eruption in 79 CE, Pliny writing decades later under Trajan) helps you understand that 6.16 is a polished retrospective, not a hasty dispatch.
No released FRQ has asked about "annals" by name, and you won't translate Tacitus on the exam. The term shows up as background knowledge that multiple-choice and short-answer questions can probe through Letter 6.16. You might be asked why Pliny is writing to Tacitus, what genre Tacitus works in, or what Pliny means when he predicts immortal fame for his uncle. Be ready to identify Tacitus as a historian, explain that Pliny's account was requested for a historical work, and use that fact to interpret the letter's tone and purpose. It's context that sharpens your reading of the required passage, not a passage you'll be tested on directly.
Tacitus wrote two big historical works, and they cover different stretches of time. The Annals covers Tiberius through Nero (14-68 CE). The Histories covers the years after Nero, which is the period that includes the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. So Pliny's eyewitness account in Letter 6.16 was requested for Tacitus's Histories, not the Annals. For AP purposes, the safe move is to say Pliny wrote to "Tacitus the historian" for his "historical work," and to use "annals" as the genre label for year-by-year Roman history.
Annals are histories organized year by year, from the Latin annus meaning "year," and they form one of the major genres of Roman historiography listed in the CED.
Tacitus, the addressee of Pliny's Letter 6.16, is Rome's most famous annalistic historian, and his Annals covers the emperors from Tiberius through Nero (14-68 CE).
Pliny wrote Letter 6.16 because Tacitus requested an eyewitness account of Pliny the Elder's death at Vesuvius for his historical writing, which is why the letter reads like polished narrative history.
The eruption of 79 CE actually belongs to the period of Tacitus's Histories, not the Annals, so don't claim 6.16 was written for the Annals specifically.
Knowing what annals are supports LO 2.1.D (who Tacitus is and his relationship to the Plinys) and LO 2.1.N (describing genre features like historiography versus epistles).
Annals are year-by-year Roman histories, and the Annals of Tacitus (covering 14-68 CE, Tiberius to Nero) is the most famous example. In AP Latin you meet Tacitus as the historian Pliny the Younger writes to in required Letter 6.16.
No. Tacitus asked Pliny for the Vesuvius account for his Histories, which covers the years after Nero and includes 79 CE. The Annals covers the earlier period of 14-68 CE, before the eruption happened.
Annals are histories arranged year by year, while epistles are letters, real or fictional, written to a named addressee. Letter 6.16 is interesting because it's an epistle written to supply material for historiography, so it blends features of both genres (LO 2.1.N).
No. Tacitus is not on the required reading list. The required Unit 2 text is Pliny's Letter 6.16, and you only need to know who Tacitus is, that he's a historian, and why Pliny is writing to him (LO 2.1.D).
It explains the letter's purpose and tone. Pliny knows his account of his uncle's death will be preserved in Tacitus's history, so he writes a careful, sequenced narrative and openly predicts that Tacitus's pen will make Pliny the Elder immortal.