Karen Radner

Professor Karen Radner holds the Alexander von Humboldt Chair for the Ancient History of the Near and Middle East at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and is an Honorary Professor at University College London. Her academic career spans institutions in Austria, Germany, and the UK, with extensive contributions to Assyriology and cuneiform studies.

• Current: LMU Munich (2015–present, W3 Professorship)
• Previous: University College London (2005–2015, Professor/Lecturer)
• University of Munich (1999–2005, Researcher/Assistant)
• University of Helsinki (1997–1999), University of Tübingen (1999)

Education:

• University of Vienna (1990–1996): BA, MA (1994), PhD (1997)
• Free University of Berlin (1993–1994), supported by DAAD
• Habilitation in Assyriology (University of Munich, 2004)

Research Focus: Specializes in pre-Hellenistic Ancient Near Eastern history, with expertise in Assyrian imperial administration, cuneiform inscriptions, and the cultural memory of Mesopotamian societies. Her work integrates archaeological findings with textual analysis to reconstruct historical narratives.

Scientific Recognition: Honored with Germany’s most prestigious research award (Leibniz Prize 2022), and elected to multiple academies including the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (2016) and Academia Europaea (2016). The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship (2014) underscores her global leadership in Near Eastern studies.

Projects & Collaborations: Leads the Cuneiform Artefacts of Iraq in Context (CAIC) project and contributes to digital cuneiform corpora initiatives. Her research bridges classical philology, archaeology, and political history.