Polybius's 'The Rise Of The Roman Empire'

For the purposes of this assignment, I have chosen passage number one. The passage is an excerpt (specifically the conclusion) from Book VI of the greater “The Rise of the Roman Empire,” authored by Polybius, who is regarded as a chief historian, second only to Thucydides by contemporary historians. “The Rise of The Roman Empire” represents the perspective of the author Polybius with respect to his historical sources and rationale during the years 221 to 146 BC in which he compiled forty books narrating the history of the “inhabited Mediterranean world.” Of these forty books, only five survive in their full form, whilst the other thirty-five are composed of only mere fragments, though long extracts from these other books still survive. Polybius 's historical accounts are primarily focused on the growth of Rome from a city-state to a vast empire and followed the rationale of the famous historian Thucydides, attempting to find a rational motive for historical events. The sources used by Polybius in his works were approached with scrutiny and only firsthand accounts were used throughout his work. Polybius 's works were written over much of his life in a variety of locations where he was present, largely influenced by where his life circumstances restricted or presented opportunity for him to travel. After the defeat of Macedon in 168 BC, Polybius was removed to Rome for an indefinite detention on political grounds. There he became the friend and adviser to Scipio Aemilianus, a son of the conqueror of Macedon. It was through this friendship that Polybius was granted the freedom of movement and had the opportunity to additionally visit Africa, Spain, Gaul, and Carthage during his life time. In 150 BC Polybius 's detention ended and he was allowed to return to Greece, though subsequently accompanied Scipio Aemilianus to Carthage during the Third Punic War. Polybius intended his works to be a history of practical benefit to future statesman, insisting the historian himself must have participated in war and politics first hand to bring that element of practicality to historical works in general – an element which arguably Polybius 's works did indeed possess. The historical literature of Polybius thusly provides a lasting insight into the early history of the Roman Empire and decline of the Roman Republic. The passage marks the end of Polybius 's writings on the history of the Rome. In retrospect, it leaves the reader at the point in time wherein the Roman Republic begins to experience the sort of internal strife that ultimately will bring about the transition of Rome into an imperial state. The passage 's ultimate thesis is that all forms of government will inevitably decay to ruin over time, predominantly because of internal as opposed to external pressure. Polybius goes on to eloquently qualify this assertion by essentially stating that decadence in general which is subsequent to the extraordinary prosperity of a society will become its ultimate downfall via the breakdown of elementary order within that society that shall soon follow. The ultimate vehicle of such a breakdown in order is the implementation of what is sold to the people as a “democracy” in the hopes this shall restore stability and favor among the populous, but what shall despite flowery and promising rhetoric undoubtedly collapse into the chaos and anarchy that Polybius refers to as the rule of the mob. In general, Polybius 's goal in writing this particular excerpt might be surmised as simply to provide for a warning (and rightly so) to his audience (the future statesman) …show more content…
To credibly write such a work, the author must have had comprehensive experience in matters of politics and especially in matters of state, though perhaps the author might even be somewhat of a philosopher. The excerpt is relevant to contemporary times, largely because its thesis is correct – this is why we study it. The breakdown in a government 's leadership by way of internal unrest inevitably results in total anarchy. This precept is readily apparent even today within certain segments of the Middle East especially. However, within the context of the Roman Republic this excerpt is historically significant foremost because it implicitly foreshadows the collapse of the Roman Republic and rise of the Roman Empire from the resulting chaos of the social breakdown within the