Editing Punic Wars (section)

==Primary sources==
[[File:Stele des Polybios.jpg|thumb|upright=0.55|alt=A monochrome relief stele depicting a man in classical Greek clothing raising one arm|{{center|Polybius{{sfn|Melfi|2017|p=192}}}}]]
The most reliable source for the Punic Wars{{#tag:ref|The term ''Punic'' comes from the [[Latin]] word {{lang|la|Punicus}} (or {{lang|la|Poenicus}}), meaning "Carthaginian" and is a reference to the Carthaginians' [[Phoenicia]]n ancestry.{{sfn|Sidwell|Jones|1998|p=16}}|group=note}} is the historian [[Polybius]] ({{circa|200}} – {{circa|118 BC}}), a Greek sent to Rome in 167{{spaces}}BC as a hostage.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=20–21}} He is best known for [[The Histories (Polybius)|the ''Histories'']], written sometime after 146{{spaces}}BC.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Walbank|1990|pp=11–12}} Polybius was an [[Historian#History analysis|analytical historian]] and wherever possible interviewed participants from both sides in the events he wrote about.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Shutt|1938|p=55}}{{sfn|Champion|2015|pp=98, 101}} He accompanied his [[Patronage in ancient Rome|patron]] and friend,{{sfn|Astin|2006|p=5}} the Roman general [[Scipio Aemilianus]], in North Africa during the Third Punic War;{{sfn|Champion|2015|pp=96, 108}} modern historians consider Polybius to have treated Scipio and his relatives unduly favourably, but the consensus is to accept his account largely at face value.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|pp=x–xi, 82–84}} [[Craige B. Champion|Craige Champion]] describes him as "a remarkably well-informed, industrious and insightful historian",{{sfn|Champion|2015|p=102}} while the classicist [[Adrian Goldsworthy]] states that "Polybius' account is usually to be preferred when it differs with any of our other accounts".{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=21}} Polybius's work is considered broadly objective in spite of his pro-Roman point of view.{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|pp=x–xi}}{{sfn|Miles|2011|p=16}}{{sfn|Hau|2016|pp=23–24}} The details of the wars in modern sources are largely based on interpretations of Polybius's account.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|pp=x–xi, 82–84}}{{sfn|Tipps|1985|p=432}}

The account of the Roman historian [[Livy]] is commonly used by modern historians, particularly where Polybius's account is not extant. Livy relied heavily on Polybius, but wrote in a more structured way, with more details about Roman politics, as well as being openly pro-Roman.{{sfn|Lazenby|1998|p=87}}{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=22}}{{sfn|Champion|2015|p=95}} His accounts of military encounters are often demonstrably inaccurate; the classicist [[Adrian Goldsworthy]] says Livy's "reliability is often suspect",{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=222}} and the historian [[Philip Sabin]] refers to Livy's "military ignorance".{{sfn|Sabin|1996|p=62}}

Other, later ancient histories of the wars also exist, often in fragmentary or summary form.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=21–23}} Modern historians usually take into account the writings of various Roman [[annalists]], some contemporary; the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] Greek [[Diodorus Siculus]]; and later writers such as{{sfn|Champion|2015|p=95}} [[Plutarch]], [[Appian]], and [[Cassius Dio|Dio Cassius]].{{sfn|Mineo|2015|pp=111–127}}{{#tag:ref|Sources other than Polybius are discussed by Bernard Mineo in "Principal Literary Sources for the Punic Wars (apart from Polybius)".{{sfn|Mineo|2015|pp=111–127}}|group=note}} Other sources include coins, inscriptions, archaeological evidence and empirical evidence from reconstructions, such as the [[trireme]] [[Olympias (trireme)|''Olympias'']].{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=23, 98}}