Editing Tacitus (emperor) (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Tacitus Ant.jpg|right|thumb|[[Antoninianus]] of Tacitus. Legend: IMPerator

Caesar Marcus CLavdius TACITVS AVGustus.]]
His early life is largely unknown. An origin story circulated after his coronation claimed Tacitus to be the heir of an old [[Umbria]]n family and one of the wealthiest men of the empire, with a total wealth of 280 million sestertii. His faction distributed copies of the historian [[Publius Cornelius Tacitus]]' work, which was barely read at the time, perhaps contributing to its partial survival. Modern historiography rejects his alleged descent from the historian as a fabrication.<ref>McMahon, [http://www.roman-emperors.org/tacitus.htm#N_3_ Note 3] and accompanying text</ref>{{sfn|Leadbetter|2010|p=86}} It is more likely that he emerged from the [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] military, which made him a representative of the army in imperial politics.<ref name="Hagi336">{{harvnb|Hagi|2016|p=336}}</ref>

In the course of his long life he held various civil offices, including the [[Roman consul|consulship]] twice, once under [[Publius Licinius Valerianus|Valerian]] and again in 273, earning universal respect.<ref>Edward Gibbon, ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', (The Modern Library, 1932), ch. XII., p. 276</ref>