Rome’s post‑defeat resilience

Using a catalogue of 1,709 battle records grouped into 352 conflicts, the author isolates 104 conflicts where both sides suffered recorded defeats and shows Rome later secured a favourable ending in a majority (61) versus 24 for opponents. The pattern persists across Republican and Imperial periods and is linked in sources (Polybius) to political decisions, citizen mobilization and allied networks. — Shows how institutional choices and coalition structures, not just battlefield outcomes, determine long‑run state survival—an empirical lens useful for comparing historical and modern state resilience.