James Douglas Howard-Johnston (born 12 March 1942) is an English historian of the Byzantine Empire. He was University Lecturer in Byzantine Studies at the University of Oxford. He is an emeritus fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His approach to Byzantium follows that of Edward Gibbon and concentrates on comparisons between the Byzantine state and its Western counterparts. Howard-Johnston has also done research on Late Antiquity, especially the Roman–Persian Wars and the early history of Islam.

Career

Howard-Johnston was Junior Research Lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, from 1966 to 1971, during which he also held a Junior Fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks (1968-9). Later, he was University Lecturer in Byzantine Studies and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, until his retirement in 2009. He was briefly interim President of the same college in the mid-2000s.

Politics

He was a member of Oxford City Council (1971-6) and Oxfordshire County Council (1973-7, 1981-7).

Alexiad authorship

In 1989 Howard-Johnston asserted that The Alexiad of Anna Komnene could not have been written by a "Constantinople-bound princess" and that "the detailed and conversant campaign narratives of the Alexiad can only have been constructed by a 'latterday [sic] Procopius' or retired soldier."

Personal life

Howard-Johnston is a stepson of the historian Hugh Trevor-Roper and grandson of Douglas Haig. He is married to the novelist Angela Huth and has a step-daughter (Candida Crewe, daughter of Quentin Crewe) and a daughter (Eugenie Teasley).

Books