Ekkehard Weber

Ekkehard Weber (born April 30, 1940 in Vienna ) is an Austrian ancient historian , epigraphist and classical philologist and emeritus professor for ancient history at the University of Vienna .

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After graduating from the Vienna Realgymnasium GRG7 Kandlgasse in 1958, Weber studied botany, zoology and physics for one semester before switching to classical philology, German and ancient history, where he was particularly interested in the history of Austria during the Roman era. He wrote his dissertation with Artur Betz (Supplementum epigraphicum to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum / CIL III for Salzburg, Styria, Upper Austria and the Noric Lower Austria). The doctorate to Dr. phil. took place on November 25, 1964.

In 1965 and 1970/71 he received a scholarship at the Austrian cultural institute in Rome. In the mid-1960s he also performed an extended military service with the Austrian Armed Forces and carried out archaeological excavation work on behalf of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn. On January 1, 1967, he became an assistant at the Institute for Austrian Legal History, then at the Institute for Ancient History and Archeology at the University of Graz. In Graz he wrote two important publications. For “Roman Age Inscriptions in Styria”, he conducted extensive field research alongside his desk work.

On March 1, 1971, he became an assistant at the Institute for Ancient History and Classical Archeology at the University of Vienna. He received his habilitation on July 25, 1975. Since 1973, when Gerhard Dobesch was appointed to the University of Graz, his official duties included looking after the institute's library. On October 1, 1980, he was appointed Associate Professor of Roman History and Latin Epigraphy at the University of Vienna, and later he was given the title of "University Professor" on the same level as a full university professor. From 1981 to 2005 he was head of the Institute for Ancient History at the University of Vienna, with a brief interruption .

In addition, for many years he was chairman of the study commission for Ancient History and Classical Studies and president of the relevant examination commission. In 1983 he completed a second habilitation process to expand his teaching license to the entire field of ancient history. Since 1974 Weber has been repeatedly elected to academic bodies and commissions, some in a leading position. He is one of the few scientists who belonged to all three senates of the University of Vienna (UOG 1975, UOG 1993 , UG ). In 1979 he became a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute. 1979/80 he was the representative of the university lecturers in the Academic Senate.

He has been a member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences since July 16, 1993, and also a member of the Association Internationale d'Epigraphique Grecque et Latine. Since April 18, 1999 he has been a member of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. He was also a member, since 2000 chairman, of the board of the humanities and cultural studies faculty. Weber has been awarded the Cross of Honor for Science and Art . In 2005 he became a peer evaluator at the Dipartimento di storia antica at the University of Bologna, one of the largest ancient science institutes. His retirement took place on September 30, 2007, but he continues to teach at the University of Vienna and conducts research on Roman history, epigraphy and geography. On January 17, 2008, he was made an honorary senator of the University of Vienna .

However, he continues to hold lectures and heads the project (financed by the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research ), new edition of the CIL III (volumes Pannonia and Noricum) until February 28, 2013 .

In 2004/05 he began studying law at the University of Vienna , which he completed on October 14, 2010 with a master's degree.

Weber has been married to the mycenologist Ingrid Weber-Hiden since 1984 and has three sons.

Teaching and teaching activities

Weber has been teaching at the University of Vienna since 1974, he also taught at the University of Educational Science in Klagenfurt from 1976 to 1978 and in the winter semester 1979/80 at the University of Salzburg and Graz. He also dealt with the didactics of ancient history, including teacher training and further training and the sensible organization of mass teaching events, whereby he has preferred guided reading for several years. In addition, he repeatedly leads courses and guided tours at Vienna Adult Education Centers and gives lectures at scientific societies, he held over 150 specialist lectures worldwide until January 2008.

A central concern for him is also the communication of classical studies to a broad public (participation in textbooks, subject didactics, teacher training, as well as the writing of popular science publications and the holding of popular science lectures).

He is also an expert reviewer and peer reviewer.

Research priorities

The main focus of his research are the Latin inscriptions, especially from the Austrian area, Roman antiquity and the history of the Romans in Austria. Other areas of specialization are ancient geography and cartography ( Tabula Peutingeriana , map of Madaba ), ancient chronology and the history of the ancient sciences, especially that of his institute. A research project on the age of Diocletian is also planned .

In the field of epigraphy he is one of the leading international experts, he is also considered one of the best experts on Austria Romana.

Methods / approaches

Ekkehard Weber enjoyed a comprehensive education from the so-called Vienna School of Classical Studies (goes back to Theodor Mommsen via Eugen Bormann and Otto Hirschfeld). This approach is source-oriented and places high demands on philological skills. Weber demands equal weighting of ancient history, classical philology and classical archeology. Meticulous editing work together with historical evaluation are central to him. The inscriptions should be processed in a historical context and appropriately taken into account in modern historical research.

Weber is an advocate of the Humboldt principle of the unity of research and teaching. For Weber, the most important approach is the question of what can be read from the sources . For him, source studies are the central part of scientific work.

Writings by Ekkehard Weber

By January 2008 Weber wrote a number of monographs, over 150 essays, around 70 reviews and popular scientific presentations

He wrote individual examinations, on the other hand worked on corpora of inscriptions. At the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) he is responsible for the inscriptions of the provinces of Noricum and Pannonia and carries out basic research. He also writes articles on issues relating to the history of law and religion, many of them in Italian.

The Tabula Peutingeriana edition was the first annotated facsimile edition. In it he showed that the tabula dated from the beginning of the 5th century AD and that a card from Agrippa, Augustus' comrade and son-in-law, served as a template.

• Ekkehard Weber, Supplementum epigraphicum to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum / CIL III for Salzburg, Styria, Upper Austria and the Noric Lower Austria, phil. Diss., Vienna 1964
• Ekkehard Weber, The Roman Age Inscriptions in Styria, Habil.-Schr., Graz 1969
• Ekkehard Weber, Tabula Peutingeriana, Codex Vindobonensis 324. Fac-simile edition with commentary, Graz 1976, new edition in preparation, description in Polish Poznań 1998
• Ekkehard Weber, From Austria's Roman Past, Vienna 1990 (= new edition of a book by Artur Betz)
• Ekkehard Weber / Franziska Beutler (eds), The Roman Age Inscriptions from Rome and Italy in Austria, Vienna 1997
• Ekkehard Weber, Augustus, Meine Taten, 6th edition, Munich 1999

Ekkehard Weber is also a founding member, editor and co-editor of specialist journals (Römisches Österreich, Tyche ) and scientific compilations, as well as contributing to several textbooks for history and Latin.

Publications about Ekkehard Weber

• Kürschner's German Scholar's Calendar, regular new editions
• Wolfgang Hameter, The Institute for Ancient History, Classical Archeology and Epigraphy, in: Die Monatsscherbe VI / 1988, p. 10ff.
• Well Prof !, professor analysis of the history group from SS 1996, Vienna undated, p. 17f.
• The academic year ... at the University of Vienna, was published annually until 1981/82, the University of Vienna yearbook 1982/83 (discontinued afterwards), contains biography and institute reports.
• Fritz Fellner , Doris A. Corradini (Ed.): Austrian History in the 20th Century. A biographical-bibliographical lexicon (= publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria. Vol. 99). Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2006, ISBN 3-205-77476-0 , p. 441.

Festschriften:

• Franziska Beutler / Wolfgang Hameter (eds), "And the next millennium begins ...". Millennium festival for the return of dies natalis by Ekkehard Weber, Vienna 2000
• Franziska Beutler / Wolfgang Hameter (Hg), A perfectly normal inscription ... and the like for Ekkehard Weber's birthday on April 30, 2005, Vienna 2005 (= Ancient historical-epigraphic studies, Volume 5)

Web links

• Literature by and about Ekkehard Weber in the catalog of the German National Library
• Homepage at the University of Vienna
• Prof. Herbert Hrachovec: Transcript of the hearing by Prof. Ekkehard Weber for the election of rector at the University of Vienna in 2007
• Online university magazine article for honorary senator appointment