Soon to be 85! A life's work full of history by Dr. Klaus Martin Girardet

Soon to be 85! A life's work full of history by Dr. Klaus Martin Girardet

On October 18, 2025, Dr. Klaus Martin Girardet, a respected historian and professor of ancient history, celebrates his 85th birthday. Born in Koblenz, Girardet began his academic career after completing commercial training and graduating from secondary school. He studied ancient, medieval and modern history as well as Protestant theology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. In 1972 he received his doctorate with the dissertation “Imperial Court and Episcopal Court”.

He continued his academic career as an assistant at the University of Trier from 1972 to 1980, interrupted by a habilitation scholarship from the German Research Foundation. After completing his habilitation in 1979 with the study “The Order of the World - a contribution to the philosophical and political interpretation of Cicero's work “De legibus”, he became professor of ancient history at Saarland University in 1980.

Academic success and commitment

Girardet's teaching activities extended until his retirement in 2005 and beyond until the summer semester of 2015. During his career he took on various tasks in academic self-administration, including the positions of vice dean, senator and dean of the Faculty of History and Cultural Studies from 2000 to 2004 as well as membership in the university council from 2002 to 2005. In addition, in 2003 he founded the “Saarbrücken Forum for Antiquity”.

His academic work includes around 100 publications on the history of the Roman Republic, the early Principate and late antiquity. His most important monographs include “The Ancient History of Europeans and the Europe of the Future” (2001) and “January 49 BC Caesar's Military Coup: Prehistory, Legal Situation, Political Aspects” (2017). He recently published the volume “Human Rights and European Identity – the Ancient Foundations” (2005) together with Ulrich Nortmann.

Roman antiquity: A central historical area

Roman antiquity, a central topic in Girardet's research, spanned about 1,000 years, longer than the history of ancient Greece. Rome became legendary in 753 BC. Founded by Romulus and Remus. Around 500 B.C. Rome was declared a republic in the 3rd century BC. The Romans conquered all of Italy in the 4th century BC.

The expansion of the empire began in the 2nd century BC. BC with further conquests in the Mediterranean. Under Emperor Trajan, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent in the 2nd century AD. Important aspects of Roman civilization included advances in administration, law, technological advances, and living conditions. The Roman military was a crucial pillar of this expansion and played a central role in the conquest strategies of leaders such as Julius Caesar, who ruled around 50 BC. BC conquered Gaul.

Roman antiquity is characterized not only by military expansion, but also by cultural achievements and social structures. Topics such as the roles of men and women, the dangers of travel and the gladiator fights in the Colosseum are illustrated through virtual tours like those in Pompeii.

A collection of Girardet's “Essays and Lectures on the Ancient History of Europeans” will also be published in spring 2025. These publications will certainly continue to make a valuable contribution to the academic study of antiquity.

Dr. Through his comprehensive studies of Roman antiquity, Klaus Martin Girardet has not only enriched the academic world, but also deepened the understanding of the roots of today's European identity.