Polybius’ Histories

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Polybius’ *Histories* is a multi-volume work of ancient Greek historiography that analyzes how Rome rose to Mediterranean dominance in the Hellenistic period through a critical, eyewitness-based narrative.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Greek historical work
historiographical work
multi-volume work
aim to explain how and why Rome came to dominate the Mediterranean world
author Polybius
booksSurvivingCompletely 5
Books 1–5
containsAnalysisOf Achaean League
Carthaginian Empire
surface form: Carthaginian state

Hellenistic monarchies
Macedonian Kingdom under the Antipatrids and Antigonids
surface form: Macedonian kingdom

Roman diplomacy
Roman military system
Roman mixed constitution
coversEvent First Punic War
Roman conquest of Greece
Second Punic War
Third Punic War
destruction of Carthage
destruction of Corinth
evaluatesFigure Achaean statesmen
Hannibal (Carthaginian general)
surface form: Hannibal Barca

Philip V of Macedon
Scipio Africanus
surface form: Scipio Africanus the Elder
genre historiography
historicalPeriodCovered 264–146 BCE
Hellenistic period
influenced Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita
early modern political thought
later Roman historiography
keyConcept symploke (interconnectedness of events)
tyche (fortune) in history
language Ancient Greek
mainSubject Roman expansion in the Mediterranean
rise of Rome
methodologicalFeature autopsy (personal observation)
comparison of sources
critical use of eyewitness testimony
political and institutional analysis
pragmatic history
narrativePerspective contemporary observer of events
originalNumberOfBooks 40
placeOfComposition Greece
Roman world
preservationForm Byzantine excerpts
medieval manuscripts
scholarlyReputation major source for Hellenistic and early Roman imperial history
survivalStatus partially preserved
timeOfComposition 2nd century BCE

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Battle of Cannae describedIn Polybius’ Histories
Battle of Trebia describedIn Polybius’ Histories
Hannibal (Carthaginian general) describedIn Polybius’ Histories
subject surface form: Hannibal
Battle of Lake Trasimene primarySource Polybius’ Histories