49 pages • 1-hour read
The Rise of the Roman Empire
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Books 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 1 Summary
Polybius stresses that studying history is imperative for personal and political growth. He criticizes his predecessors for providing a one-sided view of history, emphasizing the successes and glories of their affiliated countries. Polybius hopes to present a more balanced and impartial history of Rome’s rise and the reasons for the republic’s success: “A good man ought to love his friends and his country, and should share both their hatreds and their loyalties. But once a man takes up the role of the historian he must discard all considerations of this kind” (55).
The Greek historian suggests that the success of the Roman Republic lies in a blend of good fortune and sound political strategy. By studying the past movements of the Romans, historians can better understand the future. Polybius provides a summary of movements leading up to Rome’s rise to power, showing how major wars altered the global landscape, allowing the Romans to retake power over their city through careful negotiation.
Polybius argues that historical events have become increasingly interconnected. The Hannibalic War, for example, paved the way for Rome to expand into Greece and Asia. The Romans immediately began to expand their power by defeating the Etruscans, Celts, and Samnites, thereby enlarging their territories. After these successes, they began to seek dominion over all of Italy. Polybius celebrates the Romans’ military might and ruthlessness in its quest for expansion and power.
The First Punic War (264-241 BCE) became a catalyst for Rome’s naval developments. Although the Romans did not have a robust naval operation at the start, they quickly adapted and learned from Carthage how to build faster and sturdier ships. Their ability to make careful strategic decisions and to observe and learn from those around them were key components to Rome’s achievements. Rome defeated the Carthaginians, forcing them to evacuate the islands between Sicily and Italy, an important geographical region for the control of the western Mediterranean.
Book 2 Summary
After Rome’s success in overtaking Italy, the Carthaginians assembled a strong military force, centralized in Spain. At this time, nine-year-old Hannibal was carefully observing his father Hamilcar, who had command of Carthaginian troops. Hamilcar secured Iberia and overtook tribes through diplomacy and force. When Hamilcar died during a battle, his son-in-law Hasdrubal took over Hamilcar’s fleet.
Meanwhile, the Roman military began to move into Illyria, corresponding to modern-day Croatia and Bosnia. Illyrian piracy had become a significant threat to Roman ships and commercial interests. Under the encouragement of Queen Teuta, the Illyrians had been procuring many spoils from Roman fleets, forcing Rome to respond. The quest to stop piratical threats soon opened the door for further expansion of power. The Romans saw an opportunity. The Illyrian king Agron was rising in political and military power. Illyria was strategically important, bridging the Greek and Roman worlds and providing access to maritime routes in the Mediterranean. Overtaking the region created an opportunity for Rome to move into Greece and Asia, emboldening the republic to broaden its future goals toward domination.
Federations of city-states were key to this development. The Aetolian League, a group of city-states with influence over Macedon and Egypt, developed an insecure alliance with Rome. When the Aetolians began to feel that Rome had not sufficiently provided reciprocated support, they began to push back against Rome and the Achaean League, starting the Aetolian War. The Achaean League, an alliance of Greek city-states in which Polybius was a part, was highly influential during the Hellenistic period. The Achaeans were neutral toward Rome at first. As Rome expanded its power into Greece during the Macedonian War, it began to infiltrate the political dealings of the league.
Book 3 Summary
After providing a detailed history leading up to Rome’s expansion, Polybius now turns his attention to two highly influential wars: The Hannibalic War and the Social War. The Greek historian explains that most people in the ancient world considered Rome’s rise to power as a singular linear action. However, Polybius asserts that Rome’s expansion was done in phases, and that studying these stages is a valuable technique for making sense of how various systems work together: “A preliminary grasp of the whole is of great service in enabling us to master the details, while at the same time some previous acquaintance with the details helps us towards the comprehension of the whole” (178). Book 3 follows a span of 53 years, from the Social War to the end of the Macedonian monarchy.
The catalyst for the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage is complex. Polybius asserts that history adheres to a relationship between three factors: Beginning, cause, and pretext. The latter is the narrative through which power is enacted. One of the greatest influences for the Second Punic War was the anger of Hamilcar at Rome’s refusal to negotiate and the demand for payment and evacuation.
When Hamilcar’s son Hannibal was only nine, Hamilcar made a sacrifice to Zeus. The gods appeared to favor Hamilcar’s endeavors, so Hamilcar invited Hannibal to the altar. He told Hannibal that he would be allowed to join his expedition to Spain and made his son promise to never befriend a Roman. Polybius cites this hostility toward Rome as the beginning of the Second Punic War. Hannibal proved to be a formidable warrior and military strategist, leading a daring invasion of Italy. His successes in battles like Cannae struck fear in Rome, pushing the Romans to respond. Under the guidance of Fabius Maximus, the Romans utilized the strategy of attrition to wear down Carthaginian forces. Roman general Scipio Africanus led the Romans to victory in North Africa during the Battle of Zama, ending the war.
Meanwhile, many Hellenistic kingdoms took advantage of the chaos brought on by the Second Punic War. The Romans turned their attention to these outbreaks, engaging in the First and Second Macedonian Wars. Philip V of Macedon, who had allied himself with Hannibal, hoped to establish Macedonian influence over the Greek states. However, Rome sent fleets to support the Aetolians and the Achaeans against Philip, ending his attempts to expand his power.
Book 4 Summary
In Book 4, Polybius centers his analysis on the 140th Olympiad, at which time the Achaeans had captured the city of Cynaetha. The two political parties of the Arcadians who inhabited Cynaetha had created turmoil and unrest. When the Achaeans took power, one of these factions was exiled from the city. The party begged to be allowed back into the city, and the Achaeans agreed under the assumption that a peaceful resolution could be found.
However, the exiled party developed an alliance with the Aetolians and surrendered the city to them. The Arcadians were known for having an elevated level of virtue. They were rumored to be hospitable and devout worshippers of the gods. Polybius suggests that the abandonment of the Arcadians’ cultural practices, especially in music, caused them to behave lawlessly.
Books 1-4 Analysis
Polybius was born in approximately 200 BCE. In this collection of books from his Histories, he details the success of the Roman Republic, beginning 80 years before his birth. Polybius argues that understanding the strategies that Rome used to expand is central to making meaning from the past while navigating the future. History repeats itself, and making sense of the past can help predict what will happen next. As Polybius considers The Cyclical Nature of History, he recognizes that all of history adheres to a relationship between cause and effect.
In his eyes, everything in history can be divided into three parts: A beginning, a cause, and a pretext. The beginning marks the initial events that inform the history of the occurrence. The cause initiates the occurrence. The pretext is the narrative, true or false, that explains the event. Polybius models this tri-part structure through his analysis. He begins in the 140th Olympiad, tracing a history that led to Rome’s initial steps toward expansion, and moves to exploring the First and Second Punic Wars. He shows that a complex number of events led to these wars rather than a singular event or reason. The construction of the beginning, cause, and pretext is one more example of the cyclical nature of history, with each part continuing the loop.
The opening chapters provide a brief history leading up to Rome’s expansion, centering on two leagues of city-states: The Aetolians and the Achaeans. Both tried to leverage Rome to achieve their goals, but Rome was more successful in using the leagues to inflate its own power. Polybius reveals the clever strategies used by Rome to develop strategic alliances with both leagues and how Rome exploited their rivalry for its own gain.
Although Polybius was an Achaean himself, his analysis of the interconnected events surrounding the Achaeans, Aetolians, and the Romans is balanced. Lycortus, Polybius’s father, had been an outspoken proponent of neutrality. It was his failure to declare a loyal allegiance to Rome that caused his son to be viewed with suspicion and to be arrested during the Third Macedonian War. However, neutrality is an important part of historical analysis, and Polybius exhibits it in both his admiration and condemnation of the practices of Rome and other major powers.
Polybius argues that Rome exhibits Growth Through Discipline and Strategy, which is the key to their success. One of the key strategies employed by the Romans is extreme adaptability. Polybius repeatedly emphasizes Rome’s disciplined military forces and their ability to adapt and make informed decisions:
For it was after their victory over the Carthaginians in the Hannibalic War that the Romans came to believe that the principal and most important step in their efforts to achieve universal dominion had been taken, and were thereby encouraged to stretch out their hands for the first time to grasp the rest. (43)
This adaptability is seen in the way Rome altered its approach during the First Punic War against Carthage. At the beginning of the conflict, Rome was a land-based power with no naval tradition to draw from. However, initial failures forced the Romans to change tactics. They studied Carthaginian warships and improved upon the models to give themselves advantages in battle.
However, it is not just Rome’s strategic prowess and virtue that lead to its success. As early as the first page, Polybius mentions fortune, connecting it to what he refers to as “the element of the unexpected” (41). In his work, Polybius argues that The Balance of Fortune and Virtue are another key to Rome’s achievements. While Rome exhibits intelligence and skill, it is also favored by the gods. In short, Rome is lucky. Polybius drew the idea of the unexpected element from Hellenistic writers who borrowed the idea from Greek tragedy. The Greek word peripeteia describes the unexpected event in tragedy which alters the course of the plot. Polybius argues that Rome also experienced the favor of fortune, which played a significant role in the expansion of its power.
Military discipline, leadership, political stability, and intelligent strategy are all a part of Polybius’s definition of virtue. He points to the Cynaethans as an example of what happens when virtuous practices are abandoned. The Cynaethans set aside their traditions in favor of the new, more ruthless tactics which Polybius views as a catalyst for their failures. Throughout the work, Polybius repeatedly contrasts the virtue of the Romans with the moral decline of the Greek states in order to highlight how virtue was central to Rome’s growth. Since the Cynaethans succumbed to internal division and misguided leadership, they made themselves vulnerable to external powers.
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