Richard Saller

Richard Saller
Name	Richard Saller
Birth date	1952
Nationality	American
Fields	Ancient history, Classical studies, Roman economy, Social history
Workplaces	University of Chicago, Stanford University, University of Cambridge
Alma mater	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor	Moses Finley
Notable works	Personal Patronage under the Early Empire, The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture (with Peter Garnsey), Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family
Awards	Guggenheim Fellowship, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Richard Saller. He is an American historian and academic administrator specializing in the social history and economic history of the Roman Empire. A leading scholar of the Roman family, demography, and patronage in ancient Rome, his work is deeply influenced by the methodologies of Moses Finley and Keith Hopkins. Saller has held prestigious appointments at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Cambridge, and served as the provost of the University of Chicago.

Early life and education

He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, earning a degree in history. Saller then pursued graduate work at Cambridge University, where he earned a PhD in ancient history under the supervision of the influential historian Moses Finley. His doctoral research, which examined social relations in the early Roman Empire, formed the foundation for his groundbreaking first book. This formative period at King's College, Cambridge, immersed him in the Cambridge School of ancient economic history.

Academic career

His first academic appointment was at Swarthmore College. He subsequently joined the faculty of Stanford University, where he taught for many years and held the Edward Clark Crossett Professorship. In 1994, Saller moved to the University of Chicago as a professor in the Department of History and the Department of Classics. He later returned to Stanford University before being recruited back to the University of Chicago in a senior administrative capacity. He also served as a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.

Research and scholarship

Saller's early work, notably Personal Patronage under the Early Empire, revolutionized understanding of clientela and social networks in Imperial Rome. His collaborative work with Peter Garnsey, The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture, became a seminal textbook. He pioneered the use of Roman law sources and Latin epigraphy to study the Roman family, producing influential analyses of kinship, inheritance, and domestic authority in Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family. His scholarship often engages with theories from social anthropology and quantitative history.

Administrative roles

He served as the Dean of the Division of the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. In 2006, Saller was appointed Provost of the University of Chicago by President Robert Zimmer, a position he held until 2010. As provost, he oversaw academic and budgetary planning across the university's divisions and professional schools. Following his provostship, he returned to the faculty and was named the Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor.

Awards and honors

He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to support his research on the Roman life course. Saller was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his contributions to humanistic scholarship. He has also been honored with membership in the American Philosophical Society. His work has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Personal life

He is married to Caroline Bynum, a renowned medievalist and professor emerita at the Institute for Advanced Study. Their partnership represents a significant union of two preeminent scholars in pre-modern European history. Saller maintains an active role in the broader academic community, frequently participating in conferences and seminars at institutions like the American Academy in Rome and the British School at Rome.

Category:American historians Category:Ancient Roman historians Category:University of Chicago faculty Category:Stanford University faculty Category:American provosts Category:Guggenheim Fellows Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:1952 births Category:Living people