Michael A. Speidel teaches Ancient History at the Universities of Zurich, Basel and Bern. He is currently also a Polonez fellow at the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw. Speidel’s research focuses on the history of the Roman Empire, imperial rule and frontier zones, including the connectivities that bound the Mediterranean basin to the larger ancient world of the Middle East, Africa, India and China. His research interests also include the material culture, Roman epigraphy, numismatics, and papyrology. Speidel was trained in Ancient History and other ancient world sciences at the universities of Zürich (PhD 1990), Basel, Heidelberg and Oxford. He received several significant grants, academic honours, and guest professorships. He also worked in museums, and produced and organized exhibitions, has conducted field work at several sites, including Zeugma on the Euphrates in Southern Turkey, where he also served as an advisor to the UNESCO special projects envoy.