Barbara Mary Levick (21 June 1931 – 6 December 2023) was a British historian and epigrapher, focusing particularly on the Late Roman Republic and Early Empire. She was recognised within her field as one of the leading Roman historians of her generation.

Early life and education

Barbara Mary Levick was born in London on 21 June 1931, the daughter of Frank Thomas and Mary (née Smart) Levick. She was educated at Brighton and Hove High School and St Hugh's College, Oxford. 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 evidence.

Her portrait was painted for St Hilda's College by Jane Cursham.

Death

Levick died on 6 December 2023, at the age of 92.

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 (1990); this biography was translated into French in 2002 by historian Isabelle Cogitore.
  • The Year of the Four Emperors (2000)
  • Vespasian (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