Prof. O.J. Hekster (Olivier)

Professor - Ancient and Medieval History
Professor - Radboud Institute for Culture and History

Chair: Ancient History

Contact

olivier.hekster@ru.nl

Visiting address

Erasmusplein 1
6525 HT NIJMEGEN

Postal address

Postbus 9103
6500 HD NIJMEGEN

Prof Olivier Hekster researches Roman history, focusing on the impact of the rise and functioning of the Roman empire in its wider world. Previous work focused in particular on the power and imagery of Roman emperors. Further research interests: theatre and gladiatorial games in antiquity and the history of the city of Rome.

Hekster is member of the Academia Europaea, The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and chairs the international Impact of Empire network. He has been Fellow of Ancient History at Merton College, Oxford (2002-2004), Humboldt Fellow at the Kommission für Alte Geschichte und Epigraphik (München) (2012-2013), WWU Fellow at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (2020-2021) and Visiting Professor to the Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies (2025).

Few of his peer-reviewed articles were accepted at first submission.

Tags: Rome, Romans, Ancient ideology, gladiator battles, tradition and innovation, leadership, ancient globalisation

Publications

Key publications

Hekster, O.J. (2023). Caesar Rules. The Emperor in the Changing Roman World (c. 50 BC - AD 565). Cambridge. Cambridge University Press Full text
Srirangachar Ramesh, D., Heijnen, S.J.M., Hekster, O.J., Spreeuwers, L., De Wit, F., (2022) ‘Facial recognition as a tool to identify Roman emperors: towards a new methodology’, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 9, Article no. 78 Full text
Hekster, O.J. (2016). The Size of History. Coincidence, Counterfactuality and Questions. In Klaas Landsman & Ellen van Wolde (Eds.), The Challenge of Chance. A Multidisciplinary Approach from Science and the Humanities (The Frontiers Collection) (pp. 215-232). Dordrecht: Springer Verlag Full text
Hekster, O.J. (2015). Emperors and Ancestors. Roman Rulers and the Constraints of Tradition (Oxford Studies in Ancient Culture and Representation). Oxford: Oxford University Press Full text
Hekster, O.J., Manders, E.E.J. & Slootjes, D. (2014). Making history with coins: Nero from a numismatic perspective. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 45 (1), 25-37. Full text

Prof. O.J. Hekster (Olivier)

Publications

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