Anthony Richard Birley FSA (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020)[1] was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic.
He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley.
[citation needed] From 1950 to 1955, Anthony studied at Clifton College, a private school in Bristol, England.
He studied classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with a first-class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1960.
[1] He remained at the University of Oxford, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1966: his doctoral thesis was titled "The Roman high command from the death of Hadrian to the death of Caracalla, with particular attention to the Danubian wars of M. Aurelius and Commodus".