Ancient Historians on the Nature of War

War is one of the most visible subjects of ancient historiography. Yet historians did not simply recount battles and campaigns: they also reflected on the nature of warfare itself and on the forces that shape conflict. This volume explores how Greek and Roman historians conceptualize war and integrate it into broader interpretations of human action, political life, and historical development. Through close readings of authors from Herodotus and Thucydides to Polybius, Appian, Cassius Dio, and late antique historians, the contributors examine how ancient writers explain the origins of wars, interpret success and failure in military action, and reflect on the interaction between strategy, chance, leadership, and human character. By shifting attention from war as a sequence of events to war as a problem of historical interpretation, the volume highlights the intellectual and narrative frameworks through which ancient historians made sense of conflict and its role in shaping the past.