Bert van der Spek

Robartus Johannes (Bert) van der Spek (born September 18, 1949 in Zoetermeer) is a Dutch ancient historian, specializing in the Seleucid Empire. He is professor at VU University Amsterdam, and is currently working on the Babylonian Chronicles of the Hellenistic Age (a collection of cuneiform tablets in the British Museum). He is also the author of the best-selling first-year book for ancient history: An introduction to the Ancient World.

Van der Spek studied History beginning in 1967 at Leiden University.