Christopher Smith (academic)


Christopher John Smith, FSA, FRHistS, FSA, FRSA is a British academic and classicist specialising in early Ancient Rome. He is Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews and was formerly Director of the British School at Rome.

Early life

Smith was born in Aylesbury, England in 1965. He attended Aylesbury Grammar School. He then attended Keble College, University of Oxford to read a Bachelor of Arts in Literae Humaniores, graduating in 1988. He holds a D Phil also from Keble College awarded in 1992.

Academic career

His research explores constitutionalism and state formation with particular emphasis on the development of Rome as a political and social community and how this was represented in ancient historical writing and subsequent political thought.
He joined the University of St Andrews in 1992 as a Lecturer in Ancient History and was appointed to a chair in 2002.
He was formerly Proctor & Provost of St Leonard's College, University of St Andrews.
President of the Unione internazionale degli istituti di archeologia Storia e Storia dell’Arte in Roma from 2012 to 2017
He is currently researching the Roman Kings through a three-year Leverhulme Trust Major Research Grant. He is foreign member to the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Etruschi ed Italici in Florence.

Selected publications & awards

Among his publications are:
Awarded Premio Cultori di Roma 2017 by the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani