Kate Cooper is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester. She writes and teaches about the world of the Mediterranean in the late Roman period, working to understand the 'identity politics' of the Roman provinces with a special interest in daily life and the family, religion, and gender. Her most recent book is Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women (2013); other publications include The Fall of the Roman Household (Cambridge, 2007), and a collection of essays, edited with Julia Hillner, Religion, Dynasty and Patronage in Early Christian Rome (Cambridge, 2007). In recent years, Kate has renewed a long-standing interest in the problem of religion and violence, holding a RCUK Global Uncertainties: Ideas and Beliefs Fellowship (2009–12) and a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship (2012–15) for a project on 'The Early Christian Martyr Acts: A New Approach to Ancient Heroes of Resistance'. Kate regularly contributes to broadcast media on the history of gender, sexuality, and religious identity, as well as writing for print and online publications such as The Times, The Guardian, and The Huffington Post. Her personal website has readers in 124 countries and can be found at www.kateantiquity.com.