Alasdair Grant

Dr. Alasdair Grant is a historian specializing in the medieval Mediterranean and Caucasus regions, holding dual appointments as a Research Fellow in the Department of Byzantine Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (since 2025) and Research Associate in the Emmy Noether junior research group 'Social Contexts of Rebellion in the Early Islamic Period' at the University of Hamburg (since 2021). He additionally serves as a Young Academy Fellow of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg (since 2024).

His academic formation includes:

• PhD in History, University of Edinburgh (2016-2021), dissertation: 'Cross-Confessional Captivity in the Later Medieval Eastern Roman World, c.1280–1450'
• MSt with Distinction in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, University of Oxford (2015-2016)
• MA (Hons.) First Class in Latin and Mediaeval History, University of St Andrews (2011-2015)

Grant's research centers on socioeconomics in medieval societies, with groundbreaking work on cross-confessional slavery systems and rebellion dynamics. His scholarship bridges Byzantine, Islamic, and Caucasian histories through rigorous analysis of primary sources, revealing interconnected power structures across religious boundaries. He examines how marginalized groups navigated medieval empires, with particular attention to captivity narratives and resistance movements.

His publication trajectory reveals a consistent focus on Mediterranean socioeconomics, evolving from early studies of medieval piracy and crusader correspondence toward contemporary analyses of the Greek Revolution's transnational dimensions. Recent work demonstrates sophisticated integration of Armenian, Greek, and Islamic sources to reconstruct social histories of rebellion and slavery, establishing new methodological frameworks for cross-confessional medieval studies.

Key recognitions include:

• Young Academy Fellowship, Academy of Sciences in Hamburg (2024)
• Junior Fellowship, Byzantine Studies, Dumbarton Oaks (2020)

Grant's current Emmy Noether research group represents a major German Research Foundation grant investigating rebellion contexts in early Islamic societies. Though no formal advisees are documented, his Hamburg research group involves collaborative mentoring. He maintains active roles in the Mainz Byzantine Studies department and Hamburg's Asia-Africa Institute, where he contributes to interdisciplinary projects connecting historical methodologies with contemporary social science approaches.

His departmental affiliations anchor his work in institutional frameworks supporting Mediterranean and Caucasus historical research, with the Mainz position providing continuity in Byzantine studies while the Hamburg affiliation facilitates Islamicate world scholarship.