Polybius

200 BC,, Megalopolis, Arcadia, Greece. Greek statesman and historian who wrote of the rise of Rome to world prominence.

Polybius' history of Rome. The Histories on which his reputation rests consisted of 40 books, the last being indexes.

Polybius' original purpose was to narrate the history of the 53 years (220-168 BC)--from Hannibal's Spanish campaign to the Battle of Pydna--during which Rome had made itself master of the world