The history of Rome's foreign wars, country by country. Appian is one of our main sources for the history of the Roman Republic, especially in the second and first centuries BC, and sometimes he is our only source, as for the Third Punic War and the destruction of Carthage. Born around AD 95, Appian was an Alexandrian official comfortable in high political and literary circles, who later became a Roman citizen and lawyer. It is presumed that he attained equestrian rank, as in his later years he was offered a position as a procurator. He died during the reign of Antoninus Pius (emperor AD 138–161). Appian's theme is the process by which the Roman Empire achieved its contemporary prosperity, and his method is unique in that he traces the history of each nation's wars with Rome up to and including Rome's own civil wars in individual books. Although this victory of 'harmony and monarchy' was achieved through characteristic Roman virtues, Appian is unusually objective about Rome's weaknesses along the way. His history is notably strong on economic issues and on strategic and diplomatic enterprises. Of the original twenty-four books of the work, only the Preface and Books 6–9 and 11–17 have survived in full or almost complete form: those that cover the wars of Spain, Hannibal, Africa, Illyria, Syria, and the Mithridatic wars, as well as five books on the civil wars. This edition of Appian replaces the original Loeb edition of Horace White and adds the fragments, as well as his letter to Fronto.