Bryan Ward-Perkins is an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and historian of the later

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, with a particular focus on the transitional period between those two eras, an historical sub-field also known as

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

. Ward-Perkins is an emeritus fellow in history at

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. He joined the college in 1981 and received the

title of distinction The University of Oxford introduced Titles of Distinction for senior academics in the 1990s. These are not established chairs, which are posts funded by endowment for academics with a distinguished career in British and European universities. Howeve ...

of Professor of Late Antique History in November 2014.

Early life and education

The son of historian John Bryan Ward-Perkins, he was born and raised in Rome and spoke Italian from childhood."A personal (and very patchy) account of medieval archaeology in the early 1970s in northern Italy"
by Bryan Ward-Perkins in ''European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies'', Vol. 1, 2011. He graduated from

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

with a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree in 1980: his

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was titled "Urban public building in Italy, north of Salerno 300–850 AD".

Academic interests

Ward-Perkins' published work has focused primarily on the urban and

economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...

of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and western Europe during

. His 2005 book, ''The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization'', included statements addressing what he saw as an over-correction in the approaches of modern historiography to late Roman history. Using primarily archaeological evidence, Ward-Perkins takes issue with what he says is the "fashionable" idea that the western Roman Empire did not actually fall but instead experienced a mostly-benign transformation into the Christian kingdoms of

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. In his contrasting view, "the coming of the Germanic peoples was very unpleasant for the Roman population, and the long-term effects of the dissolution of the empire were dramatic." Ward-Perkins' contributions to fourteenth volume of ''

The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...

'' were praised by Jan Willem Drijvers and , with the latter declaring that Ward-Perkins' chapters on the economy of the late Roman Empire were "among the finest of the volume".Geoffrey Greatrex, 'Reviewed Work: The Cambridge Ancient History XIV. Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, AD 425–600 by Averil Cameron, Bryan Ward-Perkins and Michael Whitby', ''Phoenix'', Vol. 57, No. 1/2 (Spring - Summer, 2003), p. 183.

Awards and honours

*2006

Hessell-Tiltman Prize The PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content covering a period up to and including World War II, and published in the year of the award. The books are to be of high literary merit, but not primari ...

, ''The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization''

Selected works

*1984: ''From Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages: urban public building in Northern and Central Italy AD 300–850''. Oxford:

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

*1998: "The Cities", in ''The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XIII: 337–425'' *2000: "Why did the Anglo-Saxons not become more British?" (''English Historical Review'', June 2000) *2001: ''The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XIV: 425–600'' (edited with

Averil Cameron Dame Averil Millicent Cameron ( Sutton; born 8 February 1940), often cited as A. M. Cameron, is a British historian. She writes on Late Antiquity, Classics, and Byzantine Studies. She was Professor of Late Antiquity, Late Antique and Byzantine ...

and Michael Whitby).

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

*2005: ''The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization.'' Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

References

External links

Staff profile at University of Oxford History Faculty

at Oxford University Press
Podcast Bryan Ward-Perkins on the Fall of the Roman EmpireInterview about ''The Fall of Rome'' for ''Historically Speaking''.
(archived from the original) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward-Perkins, Bryan 20th-century English historians 21st-century English historians Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English medievalists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers Historians of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Royal Historical Society