Theodor
Mommsen, the son of a Protestant minister, was born in Garding, Schleswig-Holstein,
on 30th November, 1817. He studied law and classics at Kiel (1838-43)
and the Berlin Academy (1844-47). He eventually became professor of
law at Leipzig. He also became editor of the Schleswig-Holsteinisch
Zeitung. However, his involvement in the revolution of
1848-49 resulted in him being dismissed from his post in Leipzig.
In
1852 Mommsen was appointed as Professor of Roman Law at Zurich. He
also held a similar post at the University of Breslau. In 1858 Mommsen
became Professor of Ancient History at the University of Berlin. He
also held the position of secretary of the Prussian Academy of Arts
and Sciences. In 1882 Mommsen was tried and acquitted on a charge
of slandering Otto
von Bismarck.
Mommsen
was an expert on Roman inscriptions and this laid the foundations
for a study of Roman government, administration, economics and finance.
His most important works include the three volume The
History of Rome (1854-56). Mommsen's critics claimed that
in this work he hero-worshipped Julius Caesar. Mommsen held liberal
political views and in 1882 was tried and acquitted on a charge of
slandering Otto
von Bismarck.
As
well as editing Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
Mommsen published over 900 books and articles. This included The
Provinces of the Roman Empire (1885), the three volume
Roman Constitutional Law (1870-1888)
and Roman Criminal Law (1895).
Theodor
Mommsen died in 1903.
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
