Barbara M. Levick (born 21 June 1931) is a British
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and
epigrapher
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
, focusing particularly on the Late
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
and Early Empire. She is recognised within her field as one of the leading Roman historians of her generation.
Education
Levick was educated at
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...
.
Her
DPhil
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
, on the subject of Roman colonies in South Asia Minor was undertaken in the mid-1950s and supervised by
Ronald Syme
Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...
.
For this research she made two solo trips to Turkey, placing herself in a tradition at this time of largely Scottish and male epigraphers travelling in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
.
She focused, however, on
Pisidia
Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of An ...
, a region that lay away from the routes explored by a group of her male contemporaries, although she was the only one to publish a book as a result of research from these expeditions.
Career
In 1959 Levick was appointed a university
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
and tutor for Roman History at
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...
, and in 1967 published her first
monograph
A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject.
In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
, drawing on material from her doctoral thesis, which forty years after its publication was described as a "resilient classic of Roman history".
The importance of this work came from both its focus on the Roman impact on Asia Minor, and the drawing together of both epigraphic and
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
evidence.
In this work she used the discoveries she made at Yalvaç, and considered again material that had been neglected since the 1920s.
She was an influential editor of inscriptions who shaped the format of the ''Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua'' series, directing two volumes of its publication.
Her biographies of Roman emperors and Imperial women are widely known and receive largely positive reviews from their critics.
Her portrait was painted for St Hilda's College by
Jane Cursham.
Selected publications
A fuller bibliography of her works up to 2007 can be found in the Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, No. 100, VITA VIGILIA EST: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF BARBARA LEVICK (2007).
Books
* ''Roman colonies in southern Asia Minor'' (Oxford: the Clarendon Press, 1967)
* ''Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014)
*''Julia Domna, Syrian Empress'' (London: Routledge, 2007)
*''The Government of the Roman Empire. A Sourcebook'' (London: Routledge, 1985)
*''
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
'' (1990); this biography was translated into French in 2002 by historian
Isabelle Cogitore.
*''
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
''
*''The Year of the Four Emperors'' (2000)
*''
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
'' (1999)
*''Tiberius the Politician.'' London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Reprint, London: Croom Helm, 1988. .
*''Augustus: Image and Substance.'' London: Longman, 2010. .
*''Catiline.'' London: Bloomsbury, 2015. .
Articles
*''Two Pisidian Colonial Families''. In: ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 48, No. 1/2 (1958), pp. 74–78
*''Acerbissima Lex Servilia''. In: ''The Classical Review'', New Series, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Dec., 1967), pp. 256–258
*''A Cry from the Heart from Tiberius Caesar?''. In: ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Vol. 27, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1978), pp. 95–101
*''Poena Legis Maiestatis''. In: ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Vol. 28, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1979), pp. 358–379
*''Claudius Speaks: Two Imperial Contretemps''. In: ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Vol. 38, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1989), pp. 112–116
*''Abdication and Agrippa Postumus''. In: ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Vol. 21, No. 4 (4th Qtr., 1972), pp. 674–697
*''The Beginning of Tiberius' Career''. In: ''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Nov., 1971), pp. 478–486
*''Cicero, Brutus 43. 159 ff., and the Foundation of Narbo Martius''. In: ''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol. 21, No. 1 (May, 1971), pp. 170–179
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levick, Barbara
1931 births
Living people
English biographers
British historians
Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford
Fellows of St Hilda's College, Oxford
British women historians
Women biographers
Historians of ancient Rome