Rostovtzeff, Michael (Ivanovitch) (1870-1952)

Russian-born US historian. One of the first historians to use archaeological evidence, he was director of the Yale excavation at Dura-Europus on the Euphrates 1928-38. He concentrated on economic history with a particular interest in ancient agriculture.

His own experiences in Russia influenced his interpretation of the Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire 1926 as the triumph of barbarism and the lower classes. His Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World 1941 focused attention on a previously neglected era. His bibliography runs to more than 500 entries; he has been called the most important ancient historian of the first half of the 20th century.

He was born in Kiev. His career divides almost evenly between his years at the University of St Petersburg, and then, after the Russian Revolution, at the University of Wisconsin and Yale 1925-52.