Viewing the broad forces involved in such militaristic affairs rather than focusing overly much on the details, Polybius is one of the first historians to have given us historiographical methodologies and tools. At the same time, Polybius did offer detailed chronicles that contribute to an understanding of chronology and geography. On several interrelated levels, the work of Polybius forms a crucial part of the classical historiography. The areas that I focus on in this research include politics and government; military; and the process of history. I will begin with background information relevant to the research, including Polybius's own personal history including his service with the Achaean Confederacy. An overview of Roman imperialism and the geographic expansion of the empire into Northern Africa will also be discussed, as Polybius lived on the threshold of these changes and wrote about them as an eye witness. Polybius's...

Finally, I will delve deep into the content of Polybius's Histories in terms of his analysis of fortune (tyche) and his views of the role, function, and form of government. Polybius's description of Hannibal in the Histories will be given special focus, because of the way this section reveals Polybius's intentions and biases as much as because of the importance of Hannibal himself. Finally, I will speculate on the theoretical underpinnings of Polybius's historiographies to give a sense of how he contributed to the process of historical analysis.
References

"Historian -- Polybius." Retrieved online: http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/polybius/Historian_Polybius.htm

Polybius: The Histories. Trans. By W.R. Paton. Loeb.