Every discipline of knowledge has its representatives whose accomplishments had a considerable impact on its development, and who, despite the passage of time, continue to inspire generations of scholars. Until recently, scholars tended to focus on analysis and criticism of the conceptions of their eminent predecessors. For some time, however, they have increasingly been concentrating on their biographies. It was noticed that the key to better understanding of the sources of these forerunners’ views and the circumstances that shaped them often lies in the vicissitudes of their lives. Without doubt the scholars whose personal experiences had an overwhelming influence on their conceptions included Michael Rostovtzeff, Elias Bickerman and Andreas Alfödi. The size of this impact is demonstrated by two books recently published by the Franz Steiner Verlag: Writing History in Time of War. Michael Rostovtzeff, Elias Bickerman and the “Hellenization of Asia”, edited by J.G. Manning, and Andreas Alföldi in the Twenty-First Century, edited by J.H. Richardson and Federico Santangelo. Owing to the numerous similarities between these figures, it makes sense to discuss the two books together.

Both are collective works, which, despite their differing backgrounds, are linked by their objective, which is recalling the personae and works of the scholars in question by providing information about their fortunes as people and researchers based on new biographical documents, as well as reflection on the methodological aspects of their conceptions. Furthermore, the books share a critical appraisal of their subjects’ output and an indication of what remains current in them. The fi rst of the books, Writing History in Time of War. Michael Rostovtzeff, Elias Bickerman and the “Hellenization of Asia”, originated with the Michael I. Rostovtzeff Lecture given by Pierre Briant at Yale University on 10 November 2011, on the question of the “Hellenisation of Asia” in the works of Rostovtzeff and Bickerman (cf. P. Briant, Michael Rostovtzeff, Elias Bickerman and the “Hellenization of Asia”: From Alexander the Great to World War II, pp. 13‒32). This lecture was accompanied by a colloquium whose participants commented on or added their own refl ections on some of the topics covered in the lecture.