How did Suetonius use imperial archives in Lives of the Caesars?

Suetonius served as the keeper of the archives and secretary of the imperial correspondence under Emperor Hadrian. In composing his work Lives of the Caesars, he drew upon these imperial archives to inform his accounts of the emperors' administrative and military accomplishments.12

While his access to these official records provided a foundation for his writing, the resulting biographies are perhaps most famous for their focus on the private lives, personalities, and scandalous anecdotes of the Roman rulers. Unlike traditional historians of his time, Suetonius organized his material by topic—such as family background, public actions, and physical appearance—rather than by strict chronological order. Although he utilized archival material, he often prioritized vivid, characteristic anecdotes over exhaustive verification of their authenticity.12