Biography of Fergus Millar

The 89th incumbent of the Sather Chair of Classical Literature is Professor Fergus Millar. Millar was educated at Trinity College (B.A.) and All Souls College, Oxford. At Oxford he studied Philosophy and Ancient History, and received his D. Phil. there in 1962. He has held positions in University College, London and Oxford University, where, from 1984 until his retirement in 2002, he was Camden Professor of Ancient History. Professor Millar has given extensive service to the profession as well, serving, for instance, as editor of the prestigious Journal of Roman Studies (1975-1979) and as President of the British Classical Association (1992-1993), and holding various offices in the British Academy, of which he is a Fellow.

Professor Millar is a renowned authority in the field of ancient Roman and Greek history. His numerous accolades include honorary doctorates from Oxford and Helsinki, and elected memberships in important foreign academies. His first book, A Study of Cassius Dio (1964), set the tone for his outstanding and prolific scholarly production. Forty years later, this study is still the best on Cassius Dio, an author central to the understanding of the history of the Roman Empire. His second book, The Emperor in the Roman World (31 BC - AD 337) (1977) is likewise an outstanding contribution. In this tome, Millar for the first time puts all the activities of the Roman emperors into social and cultural context, seeing them as active players in the daily life of the empire, not just as caricatures of political action and social/cultural excellence/evil. He has continued to produce important works, including The Roman Near East (31 BC - AD 337) (1993), a pathbreaking, non-Romano-centric treatment of this important area. His further work includes The Crowd in the Late Republic (1998) and The Roman Republic in Political Thought (2002). Professor Millar has also published numerous articles and has lectured widely on a great range of topics, especially concentrated in Roman history in all its aspects.

In addition to delivering the Sather Lectures, Professor Millar is teaching a seminar in the Classics Department focusing on the Roman Near East in Late Antiquity.