Henning Börm was born in Flensburg in 1974. From 1995 to 2002, he studied history and literature at Kiel University, where he received his doctorate in 2006 with a thesis on the late antique historian Procopius. Today, “Procopius and the Persians” is one of the standard works on the historiography of late antiquity. Since 2008, Börm has held the Chair for Ancient History at the University of Konstanz, most recently as an associate professor. As a visiting professor, he taught at Humboldt University Berlin, in Tübingen and Innsbruck. He has been teaching at Ruhr University Bochum since 2020.
Börm believes there is considerable academic potential in the study of violent internal conflicts. “Historians of all backgrounds should explore this topic much more – not only ancient historians, but also medieval scholars, for example,” says Börm. “This is because there have been many more civil wars than we think. Once you start studying it in depth, you see them everywhere in history – and there are recurring patterns as well as differences.”