Scholarship

Below are some links to and brief descriptions of my published works and conference papers.

 

A Fragmented History of Ancient Generalship.” Review of J. Roisman, The Classical Art of Command: Eight Greek Generals Who Shaped the History of Warfare.
Book Review Published in Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective (June 2017).

This is my first book review, published in Origins, which is a monthly online public history magazine produced by the history departments of The Ohio State University and Miami University.  Despite what I said about it in the review, if you’re interested in anything that I’ve written or studied, you should read it.

 

Forging a Legacy: Dionysius I and the Greek Ideal of Tyranny”
Paper presented at the The Premodernist Graduate Conference, The Ohio State University, May 1, 2017.

This conference paper was a heavily distilled version of the last chapter of my dissertation, in which I argue that the image of the Archaic Age Sicilian tyrant, and perhaps tyrants in general, was created in fourth century Athens by the enemies of Dionysius I in their attempts to discredit him.

 

Ancient Aspersions and Modern Misinterpretations: A Revaluation of Tyranny and Mercenary Service on Archaic Sicily”
Paper presented at the Queen City Colloquium, The University of Cinncinnati, April 7, 2017.

This ponderously titled conference paper is another distillation of a dissertation chapter.  In this case, it is the third chapter, in which I argue that tyranny on the island of Sicily was quantitatively and qualitatively similar to that on the mainland during the Archaic Age and only truly diverged in the Classical Age.  In neither location, I further argue, were mercenaries commonly used for the establishment or maintenance of a tyranny.

 

Poor in Life, Naked in Battle: Athenian Thetes as Psiloi.  

This is a link to my master’s thesis, which I completed under the direction of S. T. Parker and with the generous assistance of Everett Wheeler.  In it, I argue that the poor of Athens (the thetes) were purposely prevented by economic and social constraints from serving as effective light-infantry in their city’s wars until the invention of the ephebic training program in the fourth century.

 

Romans to the Left, Jews to the Right: Roman Influence on the Mercenaries of Herod the Great.”
Paper presented at the Graduate Student History Conference, North Carolina State University, February 26, 2011.

This was my first conference paper and was based on a research paper for a class on ancient Syria.  In it, I argue that during the early Principate , the Roman Empire had a great influence on the mercenaries of its allies by providing them with different recruiting grounds, organizational paradigms, and Roman officers for leadership and training.  I greatly enjoyed writing this paper and plan on returning to the subject of mercenaries in Roman client kingdoms when I am done with Sicily.