Nikolas Boris Rankov (born 9 August 1954) is a British professor of Roman history at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a former rower and current umpire.
Nikolas Boris Rankov (born 9 August 1954) is a British professor of Roman history at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a former rower and current umpire.
Rankov was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, [1] the only son of Radoslav and Helga Rankov. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School (1963–1973), then subsequently Corpus Christi College, Oxford (MA 1980, DPhil 1987).
He married Kati Granger in 1981. He has two daughters.
Rankov's research interests include Roman history, especially Roman Britain, the Roman army, epigraphy and archaeology of the Roman empire, and ancient shipping.
Rankov was a Junior Research Fellow at St Hugh's College, Oxford from 1980 to 1983. [2] Rankov has taught at the Classics and Ancient History Department of The University of Western Australia from 1986 to 1989, at the Classics Department at Royal Holloway University of London since 1990, and was Head of department from 1999 to 2002.
He is best known for his participation in the Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race, which Oxford won six times between 1978 and 1983, three times with Rankov in the 4 seat and three times in the 5 seat. This led to establishment of the so-called "Rankov Rule", which states that oarsmen will compete in the race no more than four times as an undergraduate and no more than four times as a graduate. [3] Rankov was the Race umpire in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2015. [4]
Rankov was rowing master for the Trireme Trust's reconstructed trireme Olympias . As of 2004, Rankov was chairman of the Trust. [5]
A galley is a type of ship equipped with oars which typically has a long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard. Almost all types of galleys had sails that could be used in favorable winds, but oared propulsion would allow galleys to navigate and steer independently of winds and currents. The galley originated among the seafaring civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea in the late second millennium BC and remained in use in various forms until the early 19th century in warfare, trade, and piracy.
Olympias is a reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme and an important example of experimental archaeology. It is also a commissioned ship in the Hellenic Navy of Greece, the only commissioned vessel of its kind in any of the world's navies.
John Sinclair Morrison CBE (1913-2000) was an English classicist whose work led to the reconstruction of an Athenian Trireme, an ancient oared warship.
Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational private day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school gives means-tested bursaries to help with fees. Unlike many independent schools, BGS does not offer scholarships based on academic achievement.
The 160th Boat Race took place on 6 April 2014. Following a clash of oars which broke one of the Cambridge boat's rigger backstays, Oxford won the race by 11 lengths, the largest margin of victory since 1973.
The 149th Boat Race took place on 6 April 2003. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. The lead changed twice during the race, which Oxford won by one foot (30 cm): the smallest margin of victory in the history of the event. The close race has been described as "epic", while Olympic gold medallist Steve Redgrave suggested that the race was the "greatest we will see in our lifetimes".
The 158th Boat Race took place on 7 April 2012. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames in London. Despite Cambridge having the heavier crew, Oxford were pre-race favourites having had a successful preparation period, including a victory over Leander. Cambridge won the toss and chose to start on the Surrey side of the river. Partway through, with the boats level, the race was temporarily halted to avoid injury to protester Trenton Oldfield, who swam in front of the two crews. After the race was restarted, one of the Oxford crew suffered irreparable damage to his blade following a clash of oars with the Cambridge boat, ending Oxford's chances of victory. The race was eventually won by Cambridge by 4+1⁄4 lengths, in a consolidated time of 17 minutes 23 seconds.
The 151st Boat Race took place on 27 March 2005. Oxford won the race by two lengths in a time of 16 minutes 41 seconds. The race, umpired by the six-time Boat Race winner Boris Rankov, featured seven Olympic rowers. It was the first time the event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV.
The 155th Boat Race took place on 29 March 2009. Oxford's crew was the heaviest in the event's history and which featured five Olympic rowers, including silver medallist Colin Smith and bronze medallist George Bridgewater. Cambridge took an early lead, only to be caught and overtaken by Oxford, who won the race by 3+1⁄2 lengths.
The 124th Boat Race between crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on the River Thames on 25 March 1978. Umpired by former Cambridge rower James Crowden, Oxford won in a time of 18 minutes and 58 seconds. The race was complicated by bad weather, and when faced with choppy water, a strong headwind and horizontal, driving rain, the Cambridge boat, which lacked splashboards, took on water and sank. It was the fifth time a boat had sunk during the event.
The 126th Boat Race took place on 5 April 1980. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. It was won by Oxford in the closest finish for a century, despite one of its oarsmen collapsing before the end of the race.
The 125th Boat Race took place on 17 March 1979. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The 150th anniversary race was won by Oxford by 3+1⁄2 lengths. For the first time in 50 years, neither crew featured foreign rowers, while Cambridge's stroke was replaced just hours before the race. Goldie won the reserve race in the slowest time in the history of the race while Cambridge won the Women's Boat Race.
The 129th Boat Race took place on 2 April 1983. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The pre-race preparation saw Cambridge threaten to boycott the race for the first time, following the inclusion of Boris Rankov in the Oxford boat. The crews were the two heaviest in the history of the event, and featured ten former Boat Race competitors. Oxford won the race by 4+1⁄2 lengths.
The 130th Boat Race took place on 18 March 1984. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race was originally scheduled to take place the day before but the Cambridge boat struck a barge before the start and the race was postponed until the following day, making it the first Boat Race to be held on a Sunday. Oxford won by 3+3⁄4 lengths and both crews beat the existing course record.
The 127th Boat Race took place on 4 April 1981. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Umpired by former Oxford rower Ronnie Howard, it was won by Oxford who passed the finishing post eight lengths ahead of Cambridge, their largest margin of victory since 1898. The race saw Oxford coxed by Sue Brown, the first female cox in the history of the event.
The 128th Boat Race took place on 27 March 1982. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford won by 3+1⁄4 lengths, securing their seventh consecutive victory. Their number five, Boris Rankov, won a record fifth Boat Race as a rower, and Oxford's Clay brothers became the first twins to win the event.
The 24th Boat Race between crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on the River Thames on 13 April 1867. In a race where the lead was exchanged several times, Oxford won by half a length in a time of 22 minutes and 39 seconds. The victory took the overall record to 14–10 in Oxford's favour.
The 40th Boat Race, an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames, took place on 15 March 1883. Following confusion at the start of the race and a snow storm during the event, Oxford won by a margin of 3+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 21 minutes 18 seconds.
The 2015 Boat Races took place on 11 April 2015. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. For the first time in the history of the event, the men's, women's and both reserves' races were all held on the Tideway; in the men's reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie faced Oxford's Isis after the women's race, as a preliminary to the main men's race, while the women's reserve race, held the day before, saw Oxford's Osiris race against Cambridge's Blondie.
Ancient Rome had a variety of ships that played crucial roles in its military, trade, and transportation activities. Rome was preceded in the use of the sea by other ancient, seafaring civilizations of the Mediterranean. The galley was a long, narrow, highly maneuverable ship powered by oarsmen, sometimes stacked in multiple levels such as biremes or triremes, and many of which also had sails. Initial efforts of the Romans to construct a war fleet were based on copies of Carthaginian warships. In the Punic wars in the mid-third century BCE, the Romans were at first outclassed by Carthage at sea, but by 256 BCE had drawn even and fought the wars to a stalemate. In 55 BCE Julius Caesar used warships and transport ships to invade Britain. Numerous types of transport ships were used to carry foodstuffs or other trade goods around the Mediterranean, many of which did double duty and were pressed into service as warships or troop transports in time of war.
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