Andreas Alföldi

András (Andreas) Ede Zsigmond Alföldi (27 August 1895, Pomáz near Budapest – 12 February 1981, Princeton) was a Hungarian historian, art historian, epigraphist, numismatist and archaeologist, specializing in the Late Antique period. He was one of the most productive 20th-century scholars of the ancient world and is considered one of the leading researchers of his time. Although some of his research results are controversial, his work in several areas is viewed as groundbreaking.

Professor Alföldi contributed significantly to the massive Cambridge Ancient History, including Vol. 12: The Imperial Crisis and Recovery.

Life and career

The son of a doctor, Alföldi was born in 1895 in the Austro-Hungarian empire. Although the family finances were damaged after the death of his father in 1910, Alföldi was able to begin his studies of classical history after his graduation from high school. His first area of interest was in classical numismatics, which at the time was a neglected area of study in Hungary.

Like many middle class young men of his age, Alföldi participated in World War I. He was a highly decorated soldier, and after sustaining a severe injury, he was dismissed from the military in 1917. In later years he looked back on his service with pride and he retained an interest in military and strategic subjects throughout his life.

The Treaty of Trianon, which officially ended the war in Hungary and established its borders, was perceived as a humiliation to the country. This strengthened Alföldi 's interest in regional history. In the aftermath of World War I, national ties and boundaries that had been established over hundreds of years were dissolved and rebuilt. As was not uncommon in the years between the wars, archeology served to strengthen national identity.

In 1923, Alföldi was appointed chair of Ancient History at the University of Debrechen. In 1930, he was appointed to a prestigious chair at the University of Budapest. Over the next 15 years Alföldi shaped the field of ancient history and archeology in Hungary, and was also recognized as an outstanding scholar by the international community. His work transformed the Danube and Carpathian regions into some of the most thoroughly researched areas of the former Roman Empire. Particular areas of interest were the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century, the history and culture of Eurasian herders and horsemen and the imagery and representation of Roman emperors in late antiquity.

Alföldi's work was not interrupted by the second world war, but the post-war influence of the Soviet Union over the Hungarian state put an end to his research. He emigrated to Switzerland in 1947. Although most of his research materials remained behind in Budapest, the continued to contribute to the field of classical studies and archaeology.

In 1956, Alföldi accepted a position in the Princeton University's School of Historical Studies. The position afforded better pay and more opportunities for travel, and Alföldi would continue to work on projects at Princeton even after his retirement.

After emigrating, Alföldi expanded his areas of research into early roman history and the eventual demise of the empire. In Alföldi's obituary, Géza Alföldy said: "He illuminated the history of Rome from the beginning to end like no other scholar in this century."