Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Milns will present a lecture about the Greeks in the service of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th and 18th centuries, next Thursday, 20 August 2015, at the Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture, as part of the Greek Community of Melbourne’s seminar series.

The lecture will begin with a discussion of the administration of the Roman Empire before the division into West and East and the involvement of Greeks, especially in the eastern provinces. It will then go on to look at and compare the involvement of Greeks in the running of the Ottoman Empire, with especial reference to the Patriarchy and the Phanariotes.

Particular emphasis will be laid on such Ottoman offices as the Grand Dragoman, the Dragoman of the Fleet and the office of Hospodar or Prince of the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. The position of the Orthodox Patriarchy in Constantinople and its relations with the Phanariotes and the Ottoman administration will also be discussed. The career of the Philhellene Dimitrie Cantemir and the question of the ‘Secret Schools’ will also be touched on briefly.

Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Milns AM, BA(Leeds), MA(Camb),DLitt(Hon)(UQ) retired from the Chair of Classics & Ancient History in the University of Queensland in 2003, an appointment held since 1970. He is currently an Honorary Research Consultant in the discipline, lecturing and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students. His academic interests and publications deal with the culture of both ancient Greece and Rome. He is involved with several cultural organisations concerned with the Mediterranean world, having held or holding positions of President or Patron of several of these and also is Patron of the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra.

For the past 18 years he has acted as leader of tours to most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In 1997 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his services to education and to the community at large and in 2003 received a Centenary Medal. In the same year he received a Niki award for Philhellenism from the Australian Hellenic Council. In December 2012, the University of Queensland awarded him the degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters in recognition of his distinguished career.

The Greek Community of Melbourne and the organising Committee of the Seminars wish to thank the sponsors of the lecture: Dr Marinis & Mrs Maria Pirpiris and Byron Rigby.