Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ‘The Last Historians of Rome’
University of Edinburgh
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ‘The Last Historians of Rome’
Grade UE07: £41,064 - £48,822 per annum. The successful candidate will be appointed at the starting point of the scale.
Full Time / 24 Months
Job Identification 13693
Join a World-Leading Centre for Latin and Late Antique Studies
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh seeks to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for a period of two years within the Last Historians of Rome<https://lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk> project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Council and based at the Universities of Edinburgh and Nottingham. The role could suit either an early-career scholar of classical philology with an interest in Roman history, a specialist in Latin manuscripts and textual editing, or an ancient historian with outstanding Latin and Greek. The Last Historians project seeks to edit, translate, and reinterpret five historical writers from the later fourth century AD, and the appointee will work on the Historia Romana of Eutropius, producing a new critical edition in collaboration with Prof. Justin Stover. The appointee will have the opportunity to develop their skills in the areas required for this task and to lay the foundations for a future research career by conducting and publishing their own research on related themes. The appointee will be supported in presenting their work and engaging with scholars internationally, and in Edinburgh will benefit from the rich intellectual community of the Department of Classics and the Centre for Late Antique, Islamic, and Byzantine Studies.
This post is full-time, 35 hours per week, fixed-term post for 24 months with a proposed start date of 1st September 2026 (though there may be some scope to move the start forward or back). We will consider requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus work.
How to apply
Please include the following documents in your application:
- CV, including list of publications.
- A cover letter of one or two pages, explaining your suitability for the role.
-A writing sample (one or two articles, or sections of books, editions, or the dissertation) totalling c. 10,000-15,000 words). Items in any of the major languages of Classical scholarship are acceptable.
The recruitment panel will consist of colleagues from the University of Edinburgh and a Co-Lead of the project, who is external to the University of Edinburgh. Applications will be shared with all panel members as part of the recruitment process.
Interested persons may contact the PI of the Last Historians project, Prof. Gavin Kelly (Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. <mailto:Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. >) and Prof. Justin Stover (Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. <mailto:Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. >), with whom the appointee will collaborate.
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
* A competitive salary.
* An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
* To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
* Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page<https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/pay-reward/staff-benefits> and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.
Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages<https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/demonstrating-rtw>.
The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 20th March 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
Interviews will be held online soon after the closing date. We may invite a small number of candidates to visit Edinburgh following the interviews.
About Us
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About the Team
Classics at Edinburgh offers teaching across all areas of classical studies – Greek and Latin Literature and Thought, Ancient History, Classical Art and Archaeology, Byzantine and Medieval Latin Studies as well as Modern Greek Studies. All academic staff teach at all levels of the curriculum, and teaching is taken very seriously.
Undergraduate applications to the uniquely flexible single and joint honours degrees in Classics are buoyant and applications and enrolments are high. There is a very strong and growing presence of over 60 postgraduate students, both in our four taught programmes (Classics; Ancient History; Classical Art and Archaeology; Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies) and in our research degrees, with a large number of students coming from abroad.
Research interests in the subject area cover virtually all areas of classical studies. Our archaeologists conduct fieldwork from Italy to (Sasanian) Iran; our historians are doing ground breaking work on the Ancient Greek city, the history of the Hellenistic empires, Roman slavery, and late Roman and Byzantine culture and politics. Our language and literature staff cover Greek and Latin literature from Archaic and Classical Greece via Augustan and Imperial Rome to the late antique and medieval transmission and reception of the Greek and Latin Classics. In REF2021, the most recent research assessment exercise, Classics was ranked third in the UK for Research Power. Full information about the subject area can be found on our website at:
To find out more, please visit the Classics Website<https://hca.ed.ac.uk/classics> (https://hca.ed.ac.uk/classics) (opens in new browser tab)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ‘The Last Historians of Rome’
Grade UE07: £41,064 - £48,822 per annum. The successful candidate will be appointed at the starting point of the scale.
Full Time / 24 Months
Job Identification 13693
Join a World-Leading Centre for Latin and Late Antique Studies
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh seeks to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for a period of two years within the Last Historians of Rome<https://lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk> project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Council and based at the Universities of Edinburgh and Nottingham. The role could suit either an early-career scholar of classical philology with an interest in Roman history, a specialist in Latin manuscripts and textual editing, or an ancient historian with outstanding Latin and Greek. The Last Historians project seeks to edit, translate, and reinterpret five historical writers from the later fourth century AD, and the appointee will work on the Historia Romana of Eutropius, producing a new critical edition in collaboration with Prof. Justin Stover. The appointee will have the opportunity to develop their skills in the areas required for this task and to lay the foundations for a future research career by conducting and publishing their own research on related themes. The appointee will be supported in presenting their work and engaging with scholars internationally, and in Edinburgh will benefit from the rich intellectual community of the Department of Classics and the Centre for Late Antique, Islamic, and Byzantine Studies.
This post is full-time, 35 hours per week, fixed-term post for 24 months with a proposed start date of 1st September 2026 (though there may be some scope to move the start forward or back). We will consider requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus work.
How to apply
Please include the following documents in your application:
- CV, including list of publications.
- A cover letter of one or two pages, explaining your suitability for the role.
-A writing sample (one or two articles, or sections of books, editions, or the dissertation) totalling c. 10,000-15,000 words). Items in any of the major languages of Classical scholarship are acceptable.
The recruitment panel will consist of colleagues from the University of Edinburgh and a Co-Lead of the project, who is external to the University of Edinburgh. Applications will be shared with all panel members as part of the recruitment process.
Interested persons may contact the PI of the Last Historians project, Prof. Gavin Kelly (
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
* A competitive salary.
* An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
* To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
* Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page<https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/pay-reward/staff-benefits> and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.
Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages<https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/demonstrating-rtw>.
The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 20th March 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
Interviews will be held online soon after the closing date. We may invite a small number of candidates to visit Edinburgh following the interviews.
About Us
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About the Team
Classics at Edinburgh offers teaching across all areas of classical studies – Greek and Latin Literature and Thought, Ancient History, Classical Art and Archaeology, Byzantine and Medieval Latin Studies as well as Modern Greek Studies. All academic staff teach at all levels of the curriculum, and teaching is taken very seriously.
Undergraduate applications to the uniquely flexible single and joint honours degrees in Classics are buoyant and applications and enrolments are high. There is a very strong and growing presence of over 60 postgraduate students, both in our four taught programmes (Classics; Ancient History; Classical Art and Archaeology; Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies) and in our research degrees, with a large number of students coming from abroad.
Research interests in the subject area cover virtually all areas of classical studies. Our archaeologists conduct fieldwork from Italy to (Sasanian) Iran; our historians are doing ground breaking work on the Ancient Greek city, the history of the Hellenistic empires, Roman slavery, and late Roman and Byzantine culture and politics. Our language and literature staff cover Greek and Latin literature from Archaic and Classical Greece via Augustan and Imperial Rome to the late antique and medieval transmission and reception of the Greek and Latin Classics. In REF2021, the most recent research assessment exercise, Classics was ranked third in the UK for Research Power. Full information about the subject area can be found on our website at:
To find out more, please visit the Classics Website<https://hca.ed.ac.uk/classics> (https://hca.ed.ac.uk/classics) (opens in new browser tab)