Overview
Background
Dr Michael Edward Stewart completed his PhD at the University of Queensland in 2013. He is the author of The Soldier’s Life: Martial Virtues and Manly Romanitas in the Early Byzantine Empire (2017) and Masculinity, Identity, and Power Politics in the Age of Justinian: A Study of Procopius (Amsterdam University Press, 2020; reprinted by Routledge, 2025). He co-edited, with David Alan Parnell and Conor Whately, The Routledge Handbook on Identity in Byzantium (2022).
His most recent book is Portraits of Generalship and Authority in the Age of Justinian (Routledge, 2026). His forthcoming volume, Marriage, Alliance, and Social Networks in the Age of Theodora and Justinian, is under contract with Routledge. Dr Stewart has been an invited speaker at the Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, and at the University of Venice.
Over the past decade, he has published numerous book chapters and articles, as well as several pieces for wider audiences on the Late Roman and Byzantine army, the historian Procopius, eunuchs, the Arab conquests, and other aspects of Roman and Byzantine history. His popular work has appeared in publications such as Desperta Ferro, Medieval Warfare Magazine, Medieval World: Culture & Conflict, and Medievalists.net.
Dr Stewart has been interviewed on multiple platforms, including New Books Network and Agnus.net. He has peer-reviewed book manuscripts for Palgrave Macmillan, Brill, Bloomsbury, and Routledge, as well as journal articles for Byzantion, Classica Cracoviensia, Studies in Late Antiquity, Eos, Revista de Historia, Journal of Ancient Civilizations, and the Journal of Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies.
Availability
- Dr Michael Stewart is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Late Antiquity, marriage-alliances, Procopius, masculinity, generalship, medieval Roman literature and identity in Late Antiquity, Byzantium, and the early Middle Ages
Works
Search Professor Michael Stewart’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Book Chapter
Finding Byzantium
Stewart, Michael Edward, Parnell, David Alan and Whately, Conor (2022). Finding Byzantium. The Routledge handbook on identity in Byzantium. (pp. 1-15) edited by Michael Edward Stewart, David Allen Parnell and Conor Whately. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429031373-1
2021
Journal Article
Turning Traitor: Shifting Loyalties in Procopius’ Gothic Wars
Lillington-Martin, Christopher and Stewart, Michael Edward (2021). Turning Traitor: Shifting Loyalties in Procopius’ Gothic Wars. Βυζαντινά Σύμμεικτα Byzantina Symmeikta, 31, 281-305. doi: 10.12681/byzsym.26164
2021
Journal Article
Review of Eduardo Fabbro, Warfare and the Making of Early Medieval Italy (568–652) Studies in Medieval History and Culture (London: Routledge, 2020)
Stewart, Michael Edward (2021). Review of Eduardo Fabbro, Warfare and the Making of Early Medieval Italy (568–652) Studies in Medieval History and Culture (London: Routledge, 2020). Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association (2), 26-27.
2021
Journal Article
Review of Francesca Dell’Aqua, Iconophilia: Politics, Religion, Preaching, and the Use of Images in Rome, c. 680–880
Stewart, Michael Edward (2021). Review of Francesca Dell’Aqua, Iconophilia: Politics, Religion, Preaching, and the Use of Images in Rome, c. 680–880 . Australian Early Medieval Association. Journal (2), 15-17.
2020
Journal Article
La gloria del servicio. Soldados y civiles en el Bajo Imperio
Stewart, Michael Edward (2020). La gloria del servicio. Soldados y civiles en el Bajo Imperio. Desperta Ferro, 25 (7).
2020
Book
Masculinity, identity, and power politics in the age of Justinian: a study of Procopius
Stewart, Michael (2020). Masculinity, identity, and power politics in the age of Justinian: a study of Procopius. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press. doi: 10.5117/9789462988231
2020
Journal Article
Book Review: A. Omissi, Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire: Civil War Panegyric, and the Construction of Legitimacy, Oxford 2018
Stewart, Michael Edward (2020). Book Review: A. Omissi, Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire: Civil War Panegyric, and the Construction of Legitimacy, Oxford 2018. Βυζαντινά Σύμμεικτα, 30, 379-385. doi: 10.12681/byzsym.23040
2019
Journal Article
The assassinations of Aetius, Aspar, and Valentinian III: violent death in the shadow of the fall
Stewart, Michael Edward (2019). The assassinations of Aetius, Aspar, and Valentinian III: violent death in the shadow of the fall. Medieval Warfare Magazine, 9 (4), 42-45.
2019
Journal Article
Review of Brown, Michelle P., Ildar H. Garipzanov, and Benjamin C. Tilghman, eds, Graphic Devices and the Early Decorated Book (Boydell Studies in Medieval Art and Architecture
Stewart, Michael Edward (2019). Review of Brown, Michelle P., Ildar H. Garipzanov, and Benjamin C. Tilghman, eds, Graphic Devices and the Early Decorated Book (Boydell Studies in Medieval Art and Architecture. Parergon, 36 (1), 186-187.
2019
Journal Article
Graphic Devices and the Early Decorated Book ed. by Michelle P. Brown, Ildar H. Garipzanov, and Benjamin C. Tilghman
Stewart, Michael Edward (2019). Graphic Devices and the Early Decorated Book ed. by Michelle P. Brown, Ildar H. Garipzanov, and Benjamin C. Tilghman. Parergon, 36 (1), 186-187. doi: 10.1353/pgn.2019.0011
2018
Journal Article
Review of Mark Hebblewhite, The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD, 235-395
Stewart, Michael Edward (2018). Review of Mark Hebblewhite, The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD, 235-395. Byzantina Symmeikta, 28, 398-412. doi: 10.12681/byzsym.18586
2018
Journal Article
A furious storm fell upon them - The Arab siege of Constantinople, 717-718
Stewart, Michael Edward (2018). A furious storm fell upon them - The Arab siege of Constantinople, 717-718. Medieval Warfare Magazine, 8 (5), 24-33.
2018
Journal Article
Review of Charles Barber and Stratis Papaioannou, eds, Michael Psellos on Literature and Art: A Byzantine Perspective on Aesthetics
Stewart, Michael Edward (2018). Review of Charles Barber and Stratis Papaioannou, eds, Michael Psellos on Literature and Art: A Byzantine Perspective on Aesthetics. Parergon, 35 (2), 192-194. doi: 10.1353/pgn.2018.0074
2018
Journal Article
Review of Romig, Andrew J., Be a Perfect Man. Christian Masculinity and the Carolingian Aristocracy
Stewart, Michael Edward (2018). Review of Romig, Andrew J., Be a Perfect Man. Christian Masculinity and the Carolingian Aristocracy. Parergon, 35 (1), 198-199. doi: 10.1353/pgn.2018.0043
2017
Journal Article
Review of Making Early Medieval Societies: Conflict and Belonging in the Medieval West, 300-1200 edited by Kate Cooper and Conrad Leyser
Stewart, Michael E. (2017). Review of Making Early Medieval Societies: Conflict and Belonging in the Medieval West, 300-1200 edited by Kate Cooper and Conrad Leyser. Journal of Social History, 51 (1), 160-162. doi: 10.1093/jsh/shw071
2017
Book Chapter
Breaking down barriers: eunuchs in Italy and North Africa, 400-620
Stewart, Michael Edward (2017). Breaking down barriers: eunuchs in Italy and North Africa, 400-620. Byzantine culture in translation. (pp. 33-54) edited by Amelia Brown and Bronwen Neil. Leiden: Brill.
2017
Journal Article
The Danger of the soft life: manly and unmanly Romans in Procopius's Gothic War
Stewart, Michael E. (2017). The Danger of the soft life: manly and unmanly Romans in Procopius's Gothic War. Journal of Late Antiquity, 10 (2), 473-502. doi: 10.1353/jla.2017.0025
2017
Conference Publication
The fine lines between courage and fear in Procopius’ 'Vandal Wars'
Stewart, Michael E. (2017). The fine lines between courage and fear in Procopius’ 'Vandal Wars'. ICMS 52: Barbarians and Barbarian Kingdoms, Kalamazoo, MI, United States, 11-14 May 2017.
2017
Journal Article
Review of 'Graphic signs of identity, faith, and power in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages'
Stewart, Michael Edward (2017). Review of 'Graphic signs of identity, faith, and power in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages'. Parergon, 34 (2), 199-201.
2016
Journal Article
Review of 'Psellos and the patriarchs: letters and funeral orations for Keroullarios, Leichoudes, and Xiphilinos' by Michael Psellos, translated by Anthony Kaldellis and Ioannis
Stewart, Michael (2016). Review of 'Psellos and the patriarchs: letters and funeral orations for Keroullarios, Leichoudes, and Xiphilinos' by Michael Psellos, translated by Anthony Kaldellis and Ioannis. Parergon, 33 (2), 174-175.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Michael Stewart is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
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