09-22-2012, 03:35 PM
It's difficult to think of people who could be considered authorities on Roman history in general - authority tends to come with specialisation. Goldsworthy's a great populariser, as (in a more scholarly way) is Beard, and previously Michael Grant perhaps. But Goldsworthy is comparatively narrow in his focus and draws heavily on original work by others. The more specialised the research, the more interpretation and subjectivity is involved, and the greater potential for expert disagreement!
Having said that, I'd suggest (in the English-speaking world):
Ramsay MacMullen
T.D. Barnes
Fergus Millar
Peter Brown
David S Potter
Which are just the first five that occured to me, and are mainly late empire specialists...
Michael P Speidel also seems to come up a lot in more military circles!
(Edit - cross-posted with Duncan about Millar!)
Having said that, I'd suggest (in the English-speaking world):
Ramsay MacMullen
T.D. Barnes
Fergus Millar
Peter Brown
David S Potter
Which are just the first five that occured to me, and are mainly late empire specialists...
Michael P Speidel also seems to come up a lot in more military circles!
(Edit - cross-posted with Duncan about Millar!)
Nathan Ross
