RESEARCH Areas
As a PhD student (Trier, 1996-1999) and postdoctoral fellow (Oxford, 2000-2002), I began researching the Later Roman Empire Roman, with a strong interest in its administration and legal system, and further of the process of its christianization. Constitutional questions remained of key interest, when I turned to studying the later Roman Republic, its citizenship policies and foreign relations as well as intercultural developments in its orbit (Trier, 2002-2008/14). Roman friendship diplomacy drew my into investigating the major and minor Hellenistic Kingdoms. A first focus was (and still is) on the Galatians of central Anatolia, to whom I dedicated my Habilitationsschrift (kind of a postdoctoral thesis, Trier, 2007). This interest led me to studying the Attalid kingdom of Pergamon (Pergamum) and especially the Seleukid (Seleucid) kingdom (the largest of the Successor kingdoms after the death of Alexander, which expanded from the Dardanelles to Pakistan).
The Seleukids became the main focus of my research when taking up my (associate) professorship in Waterloo (2009), and I have been directing the Seleukid Study Group since 2011. Most of my publications concentrate on early Seleukid dynastic history, with a particular emphasis on the roles and function of the queen, as well as on the Seleukid (and Roman) relations with the Maccabees / Hasmonaeans, the priestly dynasty of Judaea. Since 2013, I developed an interest in the political, cultural and geographical history of the Black Sea region, which has resulted in a series of publications on the Bosporan kingdom to its north, the legendary land of Kolchis (Colchis) to its east, and the Mithradatic (Mithridatic) kingdom along its southern coast. Recurring themes of my research are chronology, citizenship, cult, democracy, diplomacy, imperialism, and intercultural naming practices.
In a typical year, I (co-) organize one research workshop or conference panel in Canada and another in Europe, trying to foster international exchange and to create research opportunities especially for advanced students and emerging scholars. I have been peer-reviewing for several international journals and funding agencies. My list of scholarly publication counts over 300 items published in 18 countries. My website provides access to nearly 150 research abstracts and download links to around 200 items.