Dr Timothy Dawson gained his PhD in Classics (Byzantine Studies) from the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia in 2003. He has lectured and written for many years on Byzantine, Greek and Roman armies and is a keen reenactor, particularly of the medieval European period. Timothy operated Australia's first historical European combat school, Amyna, near Sydney from 1984 to 1987, and has since gone on to be internationally recognised as an expert on certain arms and armour. He lives in Leeds, UK.