A new editor for Ancient History

By Owain Williams

I am very excited to start working on Ancient History, and I am keen to explore new places, peoples, and eras. I am a Hellenist at heart. I love Ancient Greece, and I studied this period and culture during my Undergraduate and Masters degrees. Despite this, I am familiar with the many ancient cultures of the Near East, such as Assyria, Babylon, and the Syro-Hittite States, and it is my hope to bring these cultures to the pages of Ancient History, and maybe venture even further afield! 

Not only would I like to discuss a greater variety of ancient cultures in our issues, I would also like to bring a greater variety of content to Ancient History's followers. It is my hope to bring a podcast that discusses each theme, and interviews where a scholar that has contributed to the magazine answers some questions from readers.

There are very few jobs that are directly involved in ancient history, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to edit the magazine - it is a dream come true. I have loved ancient history since my dad first showed me Kirk Douglas' Spartacus (a film I highly recommend, if you haven’t seen it). I was lucky enough to study Ancient History at university, graduating with a Masters Degree from University of Durham. Despite my love of Spartacus, during my studies I became enamoured with the world of Ancient Greece, specialising in ancient ethnicity, ancient Greek slavery, and Greek interactions with the Near East during the Iron Age. 

I fully believe that well-researched ancient history should be readily available to those with an interest in the subject, and I regularly contribute to AskHistorians on Reddit, countering misconceptions wherever I find them! When I am not answering questions there, I can be found kayaking or cooking.