Simon Elliott
Author
Simon Elliott holds a PhD from the University of Kent where he studied the military presence in Britain during the Roman occupation, and where he is now an Honorary Research Fellow. He also has an MA in War Studies from KCL and an MA in Archaeology from UCL.
He is the author of six history books published to date. His first, Sea Eagles of Empire - The Classis Britannica and the Battles for Britain (History Press, 2016) won the Military History Matters (MHM) Book of the Year Award in 2017. His second, Empire State - How the Roman Military Built an Empire (Oxbow Books, 2017) tells the story of the Roman military in all of its manifestations except fighting. His third book was Septimius Severus in Scotland - The Northern Campaigns of the First Hammer of the Scots (Greenhill Books, 2018). His fourth and fifth books are Roman Legionaries' (Casemate Publishing, 2018) which tell the story of this elite warrior of the ancient world and Ragstone to Riches (BAR Publishing, 2018) which details how Roman London was built. Julius Caesar - Rome's Greatest Warlord was published in 2019 (Casemate).
He frequently appears on television as an expert on the ancient world. Most recently he was an ensemble lead cast member and executive producer for the pilot of 'The Great Big Dig', Channel 4's new weekly archaeology programme. He has also recently appeared on Channel 5, Discovery, National Geographic and History Hit TV. He regularly publishes features in History Today, BBC History Magazine, Military History Monthly and British Archaeology.
Simon Elliott is a lecturer on Roman Britain at various Further Education institutions and regularly gives talks on themes based on his research at history and literary festivals, academic institutions, schools and history and archaeological societies. He is a Guide Lecturer at archaeological and historical sites in the Mediterranean and elsewhere for Andante Travels, a Trustee of the Council for British Archaeology and an ambassador for Museum of London Archaeology.
His Legacy of Rome - How the Roman Empire Shaped the Modern World was published in 2022 (History Press).
Latest Release
The Legacy of Rome by Simon Elliott
At its height in the second century AD, the Roman Empire extended across continents, from Hadrian's border wall to the port towns of the Red Sea. But its influence spread even further, with a legacy that lasts to this day.
In this brand-new analysis of the world of Rome, award-winning historian, archaeologist and broadcaster Simon Elliott sets off on a grand tour of the whole Empire, reviewing each region in turn to show how the experience of being part of the Roman world still dramatically influences our lives today. This includes far-flung Britannia - the wild west of the Roman world - whose extreme north was never conquered. Here the legacy of a lengthy period of conquest is writ large across the urban landscape and transport network, but also in present-day Britain's differential relationship with its continental neighbours. In central Europe, Emperor Diocletian created a schism that still dominates the region, while the complex struggle for dominance in the Middle East is directly linked to the world of Rome, and the boundary between North and sub-Saharan Africa still broadly follows the ancient Roman frontier.
Beyond the limits of Empire, Elliott concludes with a chapter reviewing how Rome has influenced other regions of the world including India, China and the United States. The result is a fascinating exploration of the reach of Rome beyond its borders and through time.
