Historical Insights
Dr Rory Cox is an award-winning historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Having completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford, he has taught at the University of St Andrews since 2011, where he is a Senior Lecturer in History. Throughout his career, Rory has traced how big ideas shape human history, from the earliest civilizations to the present day.
Solar: A History of Humanity and the Sun
Rory’s forthcoming book, Solar: A History of Humanity and the Sun, delves into humanity’s complex relationship with the Sun, exploring its historical significance and impact on human civilization. Solar will be published by Ebury (Penguin/Random House) in 2027.
The inspiration for Solar came to Rory while he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he experienced a remarkable ‘close encounter’ with the Sun at the Mount Wilson Observatory, Los Angeles.
Public Speaking
Rory is passionate about sharing historical stories to as broad an audience as possible. Always an engaging and entertaining speaker, he has appeared at public events such as the Chalke History Festival and featured on numerous podcasts, including Dan Snow's History Hit and Charlie Higson's, Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee.
Available for public speaking, podcasts, and commentary on historical topics, Rory shares insights on military ethics, cultural history, and the profound connections between humanity and the cosmos.
Origins of the Just War: Military Ethics and Culture in the Ancient Near East (Princeton University Press, 2023)
Winner of the 2024 Distinguished Book Award for Non-American Military History, Society for Military History
Origins of the Just War reveals the incredible richness and complexity of ethical thought about war in the three millennia preceding the Greco-Roman period, establishing the extent to which ancient just war thought prefigured much of what we now consider to be the building blocks of the Western just war tradition.
Drawing on a diverse range of ancient sources, Origins of the Just War argues that the same imperative still underlies many of the assumptions of contemporary just war thought and highlights the risks of applying moral absolutism to the fraught ethical arena of war.
Exploring Humanity Through History
Rory explores profound themes in human history, including the justification of war and humanity's relationship with the natural world.
Author of the award-winning book Origins of the Just War (Princeton University Press, 2023), his upcoming work, Solar: A History of Humanity and the Sun, will be published in 2027.
Historian and Writer
Purchase your copy of Origins of the Just War now
Academic Expertise
Dr. Rory Cox is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews.
Rory specializes in exploring a broad range of historical periods. He has pubilshed on ancient, medieval, and modern warfare and ethics. He teaches on medieval military history, political theory, and environmental history.
Public Engagement
University of St Andrews, 2011 - Present: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/people/rwscc
Available for speaking, podcasts, and expert commentary on historical topics.
Rory is represented by Trevor Dolby at Aevitas Creative Management:
Upcoming Publication
Ebury Publishing, editor Jamie Joseph. 2027 release.
Forthcoming book Solar explores humanity's historical connection with the Sun.
