Charles P. Freeman (born 1947) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

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 st ...

specializing in the history of

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He is the author of numerous books on the ancient world including '' The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason''. He has taught courses on ancient history in Cambridge's Adult Education program and is a Historical Consultant to the

Blue Guides The Blue Guides are a series of detailed and authoritative travel guidebooks focused on art, architecture, and (where relevant) archaeology along with the history and context necessary to understand them. A modicum of practical travel informa ...

. He also leads cultural study tours to Italy, Greece, and Turkey. In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

Early life and education

From an early age Freeman was passionate about history and spent his school holidays helping on archeological digs run by Ipswich Museum. He studied law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and after graduation spent a year teaching in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. He also holds a master's degree in African history and politics from the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

and an additional master's degree in applied research in education from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. In 1978 he was appointed head of history at St. Clare's, Oxford, an international sixth form college and spent ten years there. He spent thirty years in total as a teacher and examiner/senior examiner with the International Baccalaureate. From 1988 he has worked full-time as a professional freelance historian.

Personal life

Charles Freeman lives in Suffolk near

Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, with his second wife Lydia; between them they have seven children.

Publications

*''The World of the Romans: Illustrated Encyclopedia of World History''. 1993, Oxford University Press. *''Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean''. 1996. Third edition-2014. *''The Legacy of Ancient Egypt''. 1997, Facts on File/Checkmark Books *''The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World''. 1999 *'' The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason''. Published October 7, 2003 *''A.D. 381: Heretics, Pagans, and the Dawn of the Monotheistic State''. 2009. *''A New History of Early Christianity''. 2009. *''Sites of Antiquity: From Ancient Egypt to the Fall of Rome, 50 Sites that Explain the Classical World''. 2009 *''The Horses of St. Mark's: A Story of Triumph in Byzantium, Paris, and Venice''. 2010 *''Holy Bones, Holy Dust: How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe''. 2011 *''The Reopening of the Western Mind''. 2020

References

External links

Charles Freeman
at YaleBooks {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Charles 1947 births Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of the University of East Anglia Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English historians Historians of ancient Greece Historians of ancient Rome Living people Scholars of ancient Greek history Scholars of Roman history