author
Arthur E. R. (Arthur Edward Romilly) Boak
1888–1962
A leading historian of the ancient world, he spent more than four decades at the University of Michigan and helped build its renowned papyrus collection. His work focused especially on the later Roman and Byzantine empires, bringing documentary evidence and political history together in a clear, scholarly way.
1 Audiobook
A History of Rome to 565 A. D.
by Arthur E. R. (Arthur Edward Romilly) Boak
About the author
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1888, Arthur Edward Romilly Boak became a distinguished classicist and ancient historian whose career was closely tied to the University of Michigan. University sources say he joined the Michigan faculty in 1914, remained there until his retirement in 1958, and studied earlier at Queen's College in Kingston and at Harvard, where he earned his doctorate.
Boak was especially known for his expertise in the later Roman and Byzantine empires. Rutgers' Database of Classical Scholars describes him as a specialist in their constitutional and documentary history, and Michigan materials also connect him with the growth of the university's papyrus collection, an area that helped widen the reach of his research beyond political history alone.
Alongside his teaching and research, Boak wrote and edited works that introduced readers to Roman history and the ancient Mediterranean world. He died in Ann Arbor in 1962, leaving behind a long academic career shaped by careful scholarship and a deep interest in how ancient societies were documented and governed.