Dr. Phil Booth

Biography

Phil Booth is an Associate Professor in Eastern Christianity at St Peter's College, University of Oxford. He specializes in ancient history and focuses on the rich cultures of Eastern Christianity during the late antiquity period, particularly from the seventh century AD onwards. After completing his doctorate at Cambridge in 2008, he held post-doctoral fellowships at both Oxford and Cambridge before returning to Oxford in 2012 for a lectureship shared between the Faculty of History and the Faculty of Theology and Religion. He serves as the Director of the Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity. His research interests include the transitions between the ancient (Roman-Persian) and medieval (Byzantine-Islamic) worlds in the Near and Middle East, examining the experiences of Christian communities during these periods. His book, "Crisis of Empire," published by the University of California Press in 2013, analyzes the careers of Palestinian monks in the shifting political and theological landscape of the eastern Mediterranean. His forthcoming work, provisionally titled "Egypt at the Dawn of Islam," will explore the formation of the Coptic Orthodox Church during the sixth to ninth centuries amidst the collapse of the ancient world order and the rise of the Islamic caliphate. Booth is also involved in supervising research in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies and teaches various undergraduate and graduate papers.

Research Interests

Courses