The Rise of the Roman Empire

Polybius saw Rome’s success as resulting from three factors: Elevated principles, a highly organized and disciplined military approach, and a balanced constitution. For the Greek historian, Rome’s rise was not the product of divine favor or brute conquest, but the result of deliberate planning, structured discipline, and a flexible yet stable system of organization. Strength emerges on the battlefield, in institutions, habits, and the ability to adapt, reflecting growth through discipline and strategy.

Polybius consistently highlights Roman military organization as a key to its growth as a major power. Troops were trained in formation, timing, and logistics. After victories, such as Scipio’s claiming of New Carthage, plunder was distributed fairly. Even sick and absent soldiers received their share. Soldiers did not break rank to loot and instead waited for commands, and Scipio returned hostages and women to their families. Polybius asserts that military victory is not won by passion but by habitual self-control and trust in the structure of command. This internal discipline gives Rome a tactical edge and helps preserve unity.

Polybius also highlights adaptability as a key strategy to success. Rome adapted to naval warfare during the First Punic War by reverse-engineering Carthaginian ships. During the Second Punic War, after devastating losses, Rome restructured its command and adopted a war of attrition strategy rather than chasing after Hannibal. Polybius does not just reserve his praise exclusively for adaptable Romans, either: He praises mathematician Archimedes as well for his flexible intelligence and creativity.

Throughout the work, Polybius points to good leadership as integral to achievement. Scipio is the clearest embodiment of this idea. Polybius writes that Scipio succeeded because his personal character mirrored the discipline and flexibility of the Roman system. He was effective because he did not rule by impulse. Scipio represents Polybius’s ideal leader: Brave, disciplined, tactically aware, and morally grounded. He used his logic to capture New Carthage, his morality to treat prisoners with dignity, and his scrutiny to punish only the leaders of a mutiny. These examples show that Rome’s strength was in its capacity to learn and adjust rather than adhere to rigid tradition.

In Polybius’s view, Rome was successful because individuals were disciplined and systems were structured to enforce that discipline through shared power, organized military protocols, and virtuous cultural expectations. Polybius is talking about more than battlefield maneuvers: He sees strategy as a political and institutional posture. Rome was successful because it looked to the future, adapted to setbacks, and created a balanced system by which it governed itself.