Edward Watts

Professor Edward Watts received BAs in Classics and Ancient and Medieval Culture at Brown University, and received his PhD in History from Yale University in 2002. His research interests center on the intellectual, political, and religious history of the Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire. He is the author of seven books and the editor of five more, including The Final Pagan Generation (UC Press, 2015),  Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny (Basic Books, 2018), a narrative history of the last three centuries of the Roman Republic, and The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Oxford University Press, 2021). His most recent book, The Romans: A 2000 Year History (Basic Books, 2025),: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/edward-j-watts/the-romans/9781541619821/ traces the history of the Roman state from the 8th century BC through 1204 AD. His work has also been featured in Time, Vox, Smithsonian, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, British Museum Magazine, and the New York Times. Before coming to UCSD in 2012, Professor Watts taught for ten years at Indiana University. He teaches courses on Byzantine History, Roman History, Late Antique Christianity, Roman numismatics, and the history of the Medieval Mediterranean.