Michael Sommer (historian)

Michael Sommer (born April 29, 1970 in Bremen ) is a German ancient historian and has been Professor of Ancient History at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg since 2012 . His focus is on the economic, social and mental history of the Roman Empire.

Life

Michael Sommer studied history, classical philology , ancient history, political science and Middle Eastern archeology at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau from 1990 to 1999 . From 1999 to 2002 he was a research associate and lecturer at the Oriental Seminary at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, from 2002 to 2004 visiting fellow at Wolfson College at the University of Oxford and from 2004 to 2005 lecturer at the Department of Ancient History at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau. After his habilitation in ancient history in 2005 at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, he became a Research Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Liverpool and was also a private lecturer in Freiburg. Since the winter semester 2012/13 he has been teaching ancient history as a W2 professor at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg . In June 2019, Michael Sommer was also elected chairman of the Philosophical Faculty Conference.

Research priorities

Sommer deals intensively with the economic, social and mental history of the Roman imperial era, especially the 3rd century AD, with the Near East in the Hellenistic and Roman times, as well as with various ancient cultures such as that of the Phoenicians , Greeks , Romans and of the Middle East . In addition to essays, he has written and edited a number of books.

Sommer is editor of Migration and Identities - A Journal about People and Ideas in Motion (Liverpool University Press).

Fonts (selection)

• Europe's ancestors. Origins of the political among the Phoenicians. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2000, ISBN 3-534-15013-9 .
• Hatra. History and culture of a caravan town in the Roman-Parthian Mesopotamia. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein 2003, ISBN 3-8053-3252-1 .
• Rome's oriental steppe border. Palmyra - Edessa - Dura Europos - Hatra. A cultural history from Pompeius to Diocletian , series Oriens and Occidens, studies on ancient cultural contacts and their afterlife, volume 9; Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2005 ISBN 3-515-08724-9 . ( Review )
• The Roman Empire. The rise and fall of a world power. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-17-023419-2 .
• The Phoenicians. Merchants between Orient and Occident (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 454). Kröner, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-520-45401-7 ( review ).
• with Burkhard Meißner and Oliver Schmitt (eds.), War - Society - Institutions. Contributions to a comparative war history. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-05-004097-1 .
• The Roman Orient. Between the Mediterranean and the Tigris. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 978-3-8062-1999-9 . ( Review )
• (with Volker Reinhardt ) Rome. History of the Eternal City. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2008, ISBN 978-3-534-20289-8 .
• The Phoenicians. History and culture (CH Beck Wissen). CH Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-406-56244-2 .
• The Arminius Battle. Search for traces in the Teutoburg Forest (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 506). Kröner, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-520-50601-6 .
• (with Volker Reinhardt) Sicily. A story from the beginning until today . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-534-22038-0 .
• The complete Roman emperor. Imperial life at court and on campaign . Thames and Hudson, London / New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-500-25167-6 .
• The soldier emperors. 2nd reviewed, bibliographically updated edition, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-534-23643-5 .
• Economic history of antiquity , (Beck'sche Reihe) Beck, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3406654800 .
• Roman history I. Rome and the ancient world up to the end of the republic (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 449). Kröner, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-520-44901-6 .
• Roman history II. Rome and its empire in the imperial era (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 458). Kröner, 2nd edition Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-520-45802-5 .
• Roman history: From the beginning to the end , Kröner, Stuttgart 2016, ISBN 978-3520909015 .
• Syria. Story of a destroyed world . Klett-Cotta Verlag, Stuttgart 2016, ISBN 978-3-608-94977-3 .
• Palmyra. Biography of a lost city . Philipp von Zabern Verlag, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3805350259 .
• with Tassilo Schmitt (Ed.): From Hannibal to Hitler. "Rome and Carthage". 1943 and the German Classical Studies in National Socialism. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2019, ISBN 978-3-534-27107-8 ; Review Simon Strauss in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung No. 169 Wednesday, July 24, 2019 Page N 3 Humanities .

Web links

• Literature by and about Michael Sommer in the catalog of the German National Library
• Michael Sommer on the website of the University of Oldenburg
• Profile on academia.edu

Individual evidence

1. ^ University of Oldenburg. Retrieved December 26, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Philosophical Faculty Day , Board of Directors. Retrieved December 26, 2019 .