He was originally a representative of Greek culture in the Hellenistic era and had a certain influence in Greek States. Just when he was in his prime, the political situation in the Mediterranean world changed suddenly: Rome finally subdued all localities by force and established a unified empire; The Greek states lost their political independence and merged into the Roman Empire. Polybius came at the right time, some of which are his own experiences. Therefore, he recorded the overthrown events in this historical period with profound academic accomplishment and foresight. Polybius can be called "the historian among historians". Among the historians of ancient Greece and Rome, his works are the most in line with the requirements of scientific methods.
Polybius was born into a noble family in Megalo, central Greece. His father Lukotas played an important role in the "Ahaya League" and was one of the leaders of anti-Romanticism among Greeks. When he was young, Polybius was highly respected by the world because of his extensive knowledge, talent and both civil and military skills, and was appointed as the ambassador and CEO. During the Third Macedonian War (BC 17 1- 167), he was elected as the cavalry commander of the Greek allied forces and led the troops to fight against the Roman aggression. However, in the Battle of Bidna in 168 BC, the Greek allied forces were defeated and the Greek states were in danger. Rome ordered Greek states to send 1000 citizens to Rome as "hostages", one of whom was Polybius. In BC 166, Polybius was taken to Rome by the victorious general Emilius paulus.
In the middle of the second century BC, Rome was in full swing. Culturally, "Greek fever" prevailed in Rome at that time. Rome conquered Greece militarily and politically, and Greece conquered Rome culturally. In that case, Polybius was immediately favored by the Roman ruling group for his academic achievements. He was hired as the mentor of paulus's youngest son, Scipio Emily Annous (also known as "Little Zepia"), who later became a Roman general, and established a deep friendship with him. Because of the protection of Scibio family, he is different from the general "hostage" and a bit like a guest. He stayed in Rome for 16 and 17 years, during which he wandered around, looking for historical sites everywhere, making field trips, collecting old news from all over the world, being able to consult the national archives in Rome and seeing many first-hand documents. In BC 150, Polybius returned to his hometown, but he still traveled frequently between Greece and Rome. During the third Punic War, he accompanied little Sipia to North Africa. He was there in BC 146 when the Roman army finally occupied and completely destroyed Carthage.
Polybius lived in the era when Rome unified the Mediterranean world. In that turbulent era, Rome conquered Carthage, Spain, Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, North Africa and other places one by one, turning the Mediterranean Sea into an inner lake of Rome, forming a unified situation. Faced with these thrilling facts, Polybius is determined to write a general history. He himself said: "Rome, as a small city-state, almost conquered the whole civilized area and put it under its own rule." The conquest was completed in less than fifty-three years. How could Rome be like this? How did it win? Under what regime were these achievements achieved? How can one be indifferent to such deeds, but have nothing to say! "His general history is centered on the expansion of the Roman armed forces and the evolution of the political system.
The general history written by Polybius spans about 70 years from the outbreak of the Second Punic War in 2 18 BC to the end of the Third Punic War in 2 146 BC and the establishment of a unified Roman Empire. This book is divided into forty volumes, and now only the first five volumes are intact, and the other volumes are incomplete, leaving only fragments of different lengths. But from these surviving parts, we can still get a glimpse of the outline of the book: the first two volumes are the introduction, which simply traces the history of the first Punic War; Then it describes the desperate struggle between Rome and Carthage during the Second Punic War, discusses the characteristics of Roman political system in detail, and explains why Rome can turn defeat into victory and finally defeat Carthage. Then describe the third Punic War and the destruction of Carthage, as well as the war launched by Rome in the Eastern Mediterranean and the conquest of Greek countries; Eventually the temple was built by the Roman Empire. Politibia wrote this book with the overall situation in mind, and the purpose is obvious. This book has a clear theme, consistent from beginning to end and clear organization, and gives a detailed and comprehensive description of the process of Roman military expansion and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
Polybius basically wrote contemporary history, that is, the history of Rome unifying the Mediterranean world and establishing a great empire in the middle of the second century BC. He is a witness of his time, so his record has unchangeable value. Later, people who study Roman history have to start with the factual materials he provided.
More importantly, Polybius has a relatively complete set of historical theories and methods, which are outstanding among ancient historians. He set an example in the history of western historiography, and few people can surpass it later. Li Wei, a Roman historian in Polibbi, was about a century and a half earlier, but he was far beyond Li Wei's reach in some aspects.
Polybius's works have the following remarkable features:
(1) He has a broad vision and a general view of the "world": Polybius recorded not only the history of Rome, but the history of the "world" as he knew it. In his works, the history of countries and nations along the Mediterranean Sea accounts for its due proportion. Polybius said: "The history I described began with the number140' Olympics'. ..... From this time on, the history of all countries began to become a linked whole: Italy, Libya, Greece, Asia, and historical events in various places all influenced each other. And the development trend of all those historical events will eventually be unified ... "Polybius thinks it is meaningless to write individual historical events. Only with the perspective of the general history of the world can we measure individual historical events in the general history of the world and evaluate them correctly.
(2) Meticulous spirit of seeking truth: Polybius inherited and developed Edith's viewpoint, insisting that historical records must be true and honest. He wrote: "Truth is to history what the eyes are to mankind. If someone's eyes are gouged out, this person will be disabled for life; Similarly, if' truth' is dug up from history, the rest is not nonsense. "
Polybius pointed out: "Historians should not please their readers with anecdotes, but should truthfully record their words, no matter how ordinary they are. The purpose of historiography is just the opposite of drama. The playwright touched the audience for an instant with the most touching sentences; Historians win the trust of people with real events and real words, so that serious scholars can benefit forever. "
Polybius believes that historians must abandon all personal prejudices and the party's feeling of opposing differences, make themselves a fair and just judge, and draw correct conclusions from a large amount of factual evidence. He specifically mentioned the importance of "Shi De", saying that a historian must have noble moral character and never distort the facts by subjective likes and dislikes. Polybius attaches great importance to field trips. In order to find out the truth, he visited him in Spain, Gaul, Libya and other places. In order to describe how Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, crossed the Alps and invaded the Italian peninsula in the Second Punic War, he went there himself along the route Hannibal marched in that year.
(3) Emphasize independent thinking and don't trust other people's records: Polybius also quoted other people's works, but he studied them repeatedly before quoting them and never believed them. Polybius emphasized that historians should think independently and never follow the crowd. For example, Fabian Picasso was a famous historian in Rome in the end, but Polybius warned people to take facts as the basis and not to believe everything Picto said. Polybius is very strict in self-discipline. He wrote: "I ask my readers to pay attention that if my contemporaries or future people find anything in my works that deliberately distorts the facts or makes inaccurate records, then you can criticize me mercilessly!" ! ……"
(4) Pay attention to the causal relationship of history: Polybius believes that the purpose of studying history is to draw lessons from the past and understand the changes in ancient and modern times, so it is necessary to reveal the causal relationship of historical events. He wrote: "It is certainly interesting to describe one thing alone, but it has no educational significance;" If we can make up the cause and effect, then the study of history will be fruitful. Because, by comparing our present situation with historical facts, we can get the method and basis for speculating the future ... "
(5) Emphasize the exemplary role of history: Polybius has long argued that history is a knowledge of applying what you have learned, not for those who are eager to learn from the past and seek chapters. The value of history lies in its exemplary role. Polybius thinks that history is a "fact-based philosophy". He believes that history has practical value, which can not only broaden people's minds, but also serve as a guide for people's actions. Because history provides a living precedent for people. He wrote: "The insights gained from studying history are the best education for real life. Because history, and only history, enables us to train our judgment without involving actual interests and adopt correct policies when things happen ... "He further pointed out:" As far as political life is concerned, the best education and training is to study history. In view of the mistakes of predecessors, only in this way can we teach people how to face difficulties bravely and overcome fate. There is no other way. "
Polybius earnestly warned: Historians should write history with a pen, be impartial and record the truth for future generations. However, is there a contradiction between the spirit of seeking truth and the purpose of training? Polybius pointed out categorically that the integrity of a historian is completely consistent with the educational purpose. Only when he writes a true record of the history of faith can he educate future generations and achieve the educational purpose. If you deliberately distort the facts and forge history, people's quality will become a big problem, so you can't win people's trust, let alone teach future generations!
The above is only for those who are hesitant. With these advantages, Polynesia will be immortal.
In addition, Polybius is a military scientist. He wrote Sun Tzu's Art of War, but it has been lost for a long time and has not been handed down like his historical works.
Sima Qian (about 145-86 BC), a great historian in Polybius and China, was both from the second century BC. However, Sima Qian in A Bi, Polibbi was in his fifties, and Sima Qian was only in his twenties when he died at the age of nearly eighty. At that time, the Han Empire and the Roman Empire reflected each other and produced their own great historians. Although China was separated from Greece, Rome and Wan Li, and there was no direct traffic at that time, there were many overlaps in the historical views of these two great historians, which was also valuable in the history of historiography.