Benjamin Kelly
Associate Professor
Office: Vari Hall, 2134
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext: 30415
Email: benkelly@yorku.ca
Degrees
DPhil, University of Oxford (2003)BA, University of Sydney (1998)
Professional Leadership
2020–22 – Coordinator, Programme in Classical Studies, York University
2015–16 – Coordinator, Programme in Classical Studies, York University
Research Interests
Current Research Projects
-
Summary:
This project is funded by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Its major outputs are two edited volumes, published by Cambridge University Press in 2022: The Roman Emperor and his Court, ca. 30 BC - ca. AD 300. Volume 1: Historical Essays and The Roman Emperor and his Court, ca. 30 BC - ca. AD 300. Volume 2: A Sourcebook.
Funders:
SSHRC Insight Grant
-
Summary:
The objective of this project is to develop quantitative methods to measure temporal variations in ‘state capacity’ in Roman Egypt from ca. 30 BC to ca. AD 300. ‘State capacity’ refers to a state’s ability to implement its official goals. The study will focus on three datasets relevant to these goals: edicts and letters issued by the provincial governor; petitions to judicial authorities; and poll‐tax receipts.
Collaborator: Cornelius Christian
Collaborator Institution: Department of Economics, Brock University
Funders:
LA&PS Minor Research Grant
B. Kelly and A. G. Hug (eds.), The Roman Emperor and his Court: ca. 30 BC – ca. AD 300. Volume 1: Historical Essays. 2022, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Pp. xx + 586)
B. Kelly and A. G. Hug (eds.), The Roman Emperor and his Court: ca. 30 BC – ca. AD 300. Volume 2: A Sourcebook. 2022, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Pp. xxxvi + 295)
Petitions, Litigation, and Social Control in Roman Egypt. 2011, Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Pp. xix + 427)
‘Introduction,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.1–15.
(with R. Wei) ‘The Roman Aristocracy at Court,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.85–114.
(with C. Davenport) ‘Administration, Finances, and the Court,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.115–145.
‘Violence and Security at Court,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.371–394.
(with J. Pflug) 'Introduction,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.1–9.
'Conceptualizing the Roman Court,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.10–31.
(with M. George) 'Court Spaces,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.32–78.
(with A. Hug and N. Bernstein) 'Court Relationships,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.79–131.
(with A. Hug) 'Narratives of Court Crises,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.228–248.
‘ “Access to Justice”: Die soziale Reichweite gerichtlicher Konfliktregulierung’, in Grotkamp, N. and Seelentag, A. (eds.). Handbuch zur Geschichte der Konfliktlösung in Europa. Band 1: Konfliktlösung in der Antike. Berlin: Springer. 13-25.
‘Court Politics and Imperial Imagery in the Roman Principate’, in Russell, A. and Hellström, M. (eds.). The Social Dynamics of Roman Imperial Imagery. 2020, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 128-158.
'Petitions with Requests for Registration from Roman Egypt', in Haensch, R. (ed.) . Recht haben und Recht bekommen im Imperium Romanum: Das Gerichtswesen der Römischen Kaiserzeit und seine dokumentarische Evidenz. 2016, Warsaw: Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplement 24. 407-456.
'Repression, Resistance, and Rebellion', in Ando, C., du Plessis, P., & Tuori, K. (eds.) . The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society. 2016, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 374-385.
'Crime, Criminal Law, and Order', in Gibbs, M. Nikolic, M. & Ripat, P. (eds.) . Themes in Roman Society and Culture: An Introduction to Ancient Rome. 2014, Toronto: Oxford University Press (Canada). 241-62 (2nd edn. 2020, pp. 277-96).
'Policing and Security', in Erdkamp, P. (ed.) . The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome. 2013, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 410-24.
'The Law that Catulus Passed’, in Welch, K.E. & Hillard, T.W. (eds.) . Roman Crossings: Theory and Practice in the Roman Republic. 2005, Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales. 97-120.
Review of Langellotti, M. Village Life in Roman Egypt: Tebtunis in the First Century AD in Journal of Roman Studies 112 (2022)
Review of Potter, D. The Origin of Empire: Rome from the Republic to Hadrian in Ancient History Bulletin Online Reviews 9 (2019), 110-111.
Review of Ricci, C. Security in Roman Times: Rome, Italy and the Emperors in Phoenix 72.1-2 (2018), 183-185
Review of Waterfield, R. Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece in Classical Review 65.2 (2015), 615-16.
Review of Bryen, A. Z. Violence in Roman Egypt: A Study in Legal Interpretation in Classical Philology 110.1 (2015), 81-86.
Review of Hölkeskamp, K.-J. Reconstructing the Roman Republic: An Ancient Political Culture and Modern Research in Phoenix 65.3-4 (2011), 418-20.
Review of Capponi, L. Roman Egypt in Mouseion 11.3 (2011), 412-15.
Review of Brélaz, C. and Ducrey, P. (eds.) Sécurité collective et ordre public dans les sociétés anciennes in Classical Review 60.2 (2010), 480-3.
'Proving the ius liberorum: P.Oxy. XII 1467 Reconsidered,' Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 57.1 (2017), 105-35.
'Control policial, represión y seguridad privada en la ciudad de Roma', Desperta Ferro: Arqueología y Historia 2 (2015), 20-25 (trans. Gustavo García Jiménez). [For a general audience.]
'"When the culprits come to light ...": P.IFAO I 26, BGU III 731.ii, and P.Fay. 108', Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete 59.2 (2013), 369-74.
'Notes on Five Documents from the Roman Period', Tyche: Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik 27 (2012), 224-5 (= Korr.Tyche 729-33).
‘Tacitus, Germanicus and the Kings of Egypt (Tac. Ann. 2.59-61)’, Classical Quarterly 60.1 (2010), 221-37.
'Dellius, the Parthian Campaign, and the Image of Mark Antony’, in Deroux, C. (ed.) Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History, 14 (2008), 209-34 (= Collection Latomus, vol. 315).
‘Deviant Ancient Histories: Dan Brown, Erich von Däniken and the Sociology of Historical Polemic’, Rethinking History 12.3 (2008), 361-82.
‘A Late-Antique Contract in the Collection of the Australian National University Classics Museum’, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 161 (2007), 207-14.
'Riot Control and Imperial Ideology in the Roman Empire’, Phoenix 61.1-2 (2007), 150-76.
‘Accessing Justice in Roman Egypt: Quantitative Methods and their Limitations,’ in Waebens, S. and Vandorpe, K. (eds.). Dispute Resolution in Greco-Roman and Late-Antique Egypt. Leuven: Peeters.
‘Alexandria,’ in Pagán, V. (ed.). The Tacitus Encyclopedia. Wiley-Blackwell
‘Was the Roman Imperial Court an “Emotional Community”?’ in Davenport, C. and McEvoy, M. (eds.) The Roman Imperial Court in the Principate and Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Approach to Teaching
Courses taught (York):
HIST 1100: Gladiators, Gods, Gigolos, and Goths: Reading Roman Society, c. 200 BCE – c.500 CE
HIST 2100: Ancient Greece and Rome
HIST 3131: Rome and Empire: From War to pax romana
HIST 3140: The City in the Roman World
HIST 3154: Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra
HIST 3155: Egypt after Cleopatra: Society and Culture in a Roman Province
HIST 3990: Supervised Reading and Research
HIST 4130: Problems in Roman History (The Roman Imperial Court)
HIST 4132: Caesar's Palace: A Social History of the Roman Imperial Court
HIST 4140: Problems in Hellenistic History (Graeco-Roman Egypt)
HIST 4990: Supervised Reading and Research
HIST 5038: Crime and Society in the Roman World
HIST 5060/6001: Directed Readings (Cicero, Pro Caelio)
HIST 5070: Directed Readings
LA 3040/4040: Roman Philosophical Writings (Cicero, De amicitia)
LA 3060/4060: Roman Historians (Sallust, Bellum Catilinae)
LA 3070/4070: Roman Rhetoric (Cicero, Pro Caelio)
GK 2000: Intermediate Classical and Biblical Greek
Courses taught (ANU):
HIST 1019: Rome: Republic to Empire
HIST 2139: The Historical Jesus and Christian Origins
HIST 2216/HIST 6216: Religions and Society in the Roman Empire
HIST 2218: The City in the Roman Empire
HIST 4005: Crimes, Courts and Crucifixions: Maintaining Order in the Roman Empire
HIST 6545: Graduate Reading Course A (Politics, War and Diplomacy in the Middle and Late Republic)
Courses tutored (Oxford):
Mods: Tacitus and Tiberius
Greats Roman 1.5: Late Republic
Greats Roman 1.6: Julio-Claudians
Greats Roman 1.7: Flavians
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2022 | AP/HIST4132 6.0 | A | Caesar's Palace | SEMR |
| Fall 2022 | AP/HIST3154 3.0 | A | Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra | LECT |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2023 | AP/GK3080 3.0 | M | Later Greek Prose | SEMR |
| Winter 2023 | AP/GK4080 3.0 | M | Later Greek Prose | SEMR |
| Winter 2023 | AP/HIST3155 3.0 | M | Egypt after Cleopatra | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2022 | AP/HIST4132 6.0 | A | Caesar's Palace | SEMR |
Degrees
DPhil, University of Oxford (2003)BA, University of Sydney (1998)
Professional Leadership
2020–22 – Coordinator, Programme in Classical Studies, York University
2015–16 – Coordinator, Programme in Classical Studies, York University
Research Interests
Current Research Projects
-
Summary:
This project is funded by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Its major outputs are two edited volumes, published by Cambridge University Press in 2022: The Roman Emperor and his Court, ca. 30 BC - ca. AD 300. Volume 1: Historical Essays and The Roman Emperor and his Court, ca. 30 BC - ca. AD 300. Volume 2: A Sourcebook.
Project Type: FundedRole: Principal Investigator
Funders:
SSHRC Insight Grant
-
Summary:
The objective of this project is to develop quantitative methods to measure temporal variations in ‘state capacity’ in Roman Egypt from ca. 30 BC to ca. AD 300. ‘State capacity’ refers to a state’s ability to implement its official goals. The study will focus on three datasets relevant to these goals: edicts and letters issued by the provincial governor; petitions to judicial authorities; and poll‐tax receipts.
Project Type: FundedRole: Principal Investigator
Collaborator: Cornelius Christian
Collaborator Institution: Department of Economics, Brock University
Funders:
LA&PS Minor Research Grant
All Publications
‘Introduction,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.1–15.
(with R. Wei) ‘The Roman Aristocracy at Court,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.85–114.
(with C. Davenport) ‘Administration, Finances, and the Court,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.115–145.
‘Violence and Security at Court,’ in Kelly and Hug 2022: 1.371–394.
(with J. Pflug) 'Introduction,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.1–9.
'Conceptualizing the Roman Court,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.10–31.
(with M. George) 'Court Spaces,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.32–78.
(with A. Hug and N. Bernstein) 'Court Relationships,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.79–131.
(with A. Hug) 'Narratives of Court Crises,' in Kelly and Hug 2022: 2.228–248.
‘ “Access to Justice”: Die soziale Reichweite gerichtlicher Konfliktregulierung’, in Grotkamp, N. and Seelentag, A. (eds.). Handbuch zur Geschichte der Konfliktlösung in Europa. Band 1: Konfliktlösung in der Antike. Berlin: Springer. 13-25.
‘Court Politics and Imperial Imagery in the Roman Principate’, in Russell, A. and Hellström, M. (eds.). The Social Dynamics of Roman Imperial Imagery. 2020, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 128-158.
'Petitions with Requests for Registration from Roman Egypt', in Haensch, R. (ed.) . Recht haben und Recht bekommen im Imperium Romanum: Das Gerichtswesen der Römischen Kaiserzeit und seine dokumentarische Evidenz. 2016, Warsaw: Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplement 24. 407-456.
'Repression, Resistance, and Rebellion', in Ando, C., du Plessis, P., & Tuori, K. (eds.) . The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society. 2016, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 374-385.
'Crime, Criminal Law, and Order', in Gibbs, M. Nikolic, M. & Ripat, P. (eds.) . Themes in Roman Society and Culture: An Introduction to Ancient Rome. 2014, Toronto: Oxford University Press (Canada). 241-62 (2nd edn. 2020, pp. 277-96).
'Policing and Security', in Erdkamp, P. (ed.) . The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome. 2013, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 410-24.
'The Law that Catulus Passed’, in Welch, K.E. & Hillard, T.W. (eds.) . Roman Crossings: Theory and Practice in the Roman Republic. 2005, Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales. 97-120.
Review of Langellotti, M. Village Life in Roman Egypt: Tebtunis in the First Century AD in Journal of Roman Studies 112 (2022)
Review of Potter, D. The Origin of Empire: Rome from the Republic to Hadrian in Ancient History Bulletin Online Reviews 9 (2019), 110-111.
Review of Ricci, C. Security in Roman Times: Rome, Italy and the Emperors in Phoenix 72.1-2 (2018), 183-185
Review of Waterfield, R. Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece in Classical Review 65.2 (2015), 615-16.
Review of Bryen, A. Z. Violence in Roman Egypt: A Study in Legal Interpretation in Classical Philology 110.1 (2015), 81-86.
Review of Hölkeskamp, K.-J. Reconstructing the Roman Republic: An Ancient Political Culture and Modern Research in Phoenix 65.3-4 (2011), 418-20.
Review of Capponi, L. Roman Egypt in Mouseion 11.3 (2011), 412-15.
Review of Brélaz, C. and Ducrey, P. (eds.) Sécurité collective et ordre public dans les sociétés anciennes in Classical Review 60.2 (2010), 480-3.
B. Kelly and A. G. Hug (eds.), The Roman Emperor and his Court: ca. 30 BC – ca. AD 300. Volume 1: Historical Essays. 2022, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Pp. xx + 586)
B. Kelly and A. G. Hug (eds.), The Roman Emperor and his Court: ca. 30 BC – ca. AD 300. Volume 2: A Sourcebook. 2022, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Pp. xxxvi + 295)
Petitions, Litigation, and Social Control in Roman Egypt. 2011, Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Pp. xix + 427)
'Proving the ius liberorum: P.Oxy. XII 1467 Reconsidered,' Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 57.1 (2017), 105-35.
'Control policial, represión y seguridad privada en la ciudad de Roma', Desperta Ferro: Arqueología y Historia 2 (2015), 20-25 (trans. Gustavo García Jiménez). [For a general audience.]
'"When the culprits come to light ...": P.IFAO I 26, BGU III 731.ii, and P.Fay. 108', Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete 59.2 (2013), 369-74.
'Notes on Five Documents from the Roman Period', Tyche: Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik 27 (2012), 224-5 (= Korr.Tyche 729-33).
‘Tacitus, Germanicus and the Kings of Egypt (Tac. Ann. 2.59-61)’, Classical Quarterly 60.1 (2010), 221-37.
'Dellius, the Parthian Campaign, and the Image of Mark Antony’, in Deroux, C. (ed.) Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History, 14 (2008), 209-34 (= Collection Latomus, vol. 315).
‘Deviant Ancient Histories: Dan Brown, Erich von Däniken and the Sociology of Historical Polemic’, Rethinking History 12.3 (2008), 361-82.
‘A Late-Antique Contract in the Collection of the Australian National University Classics Museum’, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 161 (2007), 207-14.
'Riot Control and Imperial Ideology in the Roman Empire’, Phoenix 61.1-2 (2007), 150-76.
‘Accessing Justice in Roman Egypt: Quantitative Methods and their Limitations,’ in Waebens, S. and Vandorpe, K. (eds.). Dispute Resolution in Greco-Roman and Late-Antique Egypt. Leuven: Peeters.
‘Alexandria,’ in Pagán, V. (ed.). The Tacitus Encyclopedia. Wiley-Blackwell
‘Was the Roman Imperial Court an “Emotional Community”?’ in Davenport, C. and McEvoy, M. (eds.) The Roman Imperial Court in the Principate and Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Approach to Teaching
Courses taught (York):
HIST 1100: Gladiators, Gods, Gigolos, and Goths: Reading Roman Society, c. 200 BCE – c.500 CE
HIST 2100: Ancient Greece and Rome
HIST 3131: Rome and Empire: From War to pax romana
HIST 3140: The City in the Roman World
HIST 3154: Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra
HIST 3155: Egypt after Cleopatra: Society and Culture in a Roman Province
HIST 3990: Supervised Reading and Research
HIST 4130: Problems in Roman History (The Roman Imperial Court)
HIST 4132: Caesar's Palace: A Social History of the Roman Imperial Court
HIST 4140: Problems in Hellenistic History (Graeco-Roman Egypt)
HIST 4990: Supervised Reading and Research
HIST 5038: Crime and Society in the Roman World
HIST 5060/6001: Directed Readings (Cicero, Pro Caelio)
HIST 5070: Directed Readings
LA 3040/4040: Roman Philosophical Writings (Cicero, De amicitia)
LA 3060/4060: Roman Historians (Sallust, Bellum Catilinae)
LA 3070/4070: Roman Rhetoric (Cicero, Pro Caelio)
GK 2000: Intermediate Classical and Biblical Greek
Courses taught (ANU):
HIST 1019: Rome: Republic to Empire
HIST 2139: The Historical Jesus and Christian Origins
HIST 2216/HIST 6216: Religions and Society in the Roman Empire
HIST 2218: The City in the Roman Empire
HIST 4005: Crimes, Courts and Crucifixions: Maintaining Order in the Roman Empire
HIST 6545: Graduate Reading Course A (Politics, War and Diplomacy in the Middle and Late Republic)
Courses tutored (Oxford):
Mods: Tacitus and Tiberius
Greats Roman 1.5: Late Republic
Greats Roman 1.6: Julio-Claudians
Greats Roman 1.7: Flavians
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2022 | AP/HIST4132 6.0 | A | Caesar's Palace | SEMR |
| Fall 2022 | AP/HIST3154 3.0 | A | Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra | LECT |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2023 | AP/GK3080 3.0 | M | Later Greek Prose | SEMR |
| Winter 2023 | AP/GK4080 3.0 | M | Later Greek Prose | SEMR |
| Winter 2023 | AP/HIST3155 3.0 | M | Egypt after Cleopatra | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2022 | AP/HIST4132 6.0 | A | Caesar's Palace | SEMR |
