Carole Hillenbrand CBE FBA is a British Islamic scholar who is Emerita Professor in Islamic History at the University of Edinburgh and Professor of Islamic History at the University of St Andrews. She studied modern languages at Girton College, Cambridge (starting 1962), and Arabic and Turkish at Somerville College, Oxford, She earned her PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 1979.
Hillenbrand specialises in classical Islamic history, especially the period of the Seljuqs and the Crusades and has produced major publications and articles within this field.
Beatrice Eileen de Cardi was born in London in 1914, educated at St. Paul's School and University College, London, studying archaeology under Sir Mortimer Wheeler. n 1936, after graduating, she was offered a position as Wheeler's secretary at the London Museum, where he held the position of Keeper. She later became his assistant. During World War II de Cardi worked for the Allied Supplies Executive of the War Cabinet in China, often visiting India within her role. After the war, she became Britain's Assistant Trade Commissioner in Karachi, Delhi, and Lahore and carried out archaeological excavations in these areas. She continued to be involved in excavations working also in the Middle East and in 1973 was awarded an OBE for services to archaeology.