Konstantin Klein

AGYA Alumni Jointly building bridges into the future

 Konstantin Klein
  • History

Areas of Expertise:
Greek and Roman history; History of the Levant from Hellenistic to Abbasid times; Late antique history, literature, and archaeology;
Epigraphy (Greek, Latin, Arabic inscriptions, and Palymrene Aramaic inscriptions);
Empire of Palmyra; Religious history of pre-Islamic Arabia

Membership:
2018 - 2023

Contact

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

University of Amsterdam
Oost-Indisch Huis
Kloveniersburgwal 48
1012 CX Amsterdam
Room D0.07

k.m.klein(at)uva.nl
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About me

The main focus of my research is the cultural and religious history of the Eastern Mediterranean, from Ancient Greece via the Hellenistic and Roman periods to the late antique and early Islamic times. My scholarly work uses an interdisciplinary methodological approach, in which I combine literary evidence with epigraphical as well as archaeological remains. I further substantiate results through sociological and ethnological research. 

Interdisciplinary research and openness to other scholarly traditions are vital elements of my academic praxis – and my main motivation to be part of AGYA. 

My current research explores the history of urbanism in Palestine, the inscriptions and the language of Palmyra, and the history of emotions in Classical Athens. However, over the past years, I have also dealt with 19th-century Italian merchant families, Greek entrepreneurs, Prussian renegades, and Swabian travellers to the Near East, since this, too, is part of what I would consider an inclusive approach to the history of the region.


Academic Career
2022 - todayAssistant Professor of Ancient History, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2016 - 2022Akademischer Rat a. Z., Chair of Ancient History, University of Bamberg, Germany
2016Ph.D. in Ancient History, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
2011 - 2016Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Chair of Ancient History, University of Bamberg, Germany
2011 - 2013Junior Visiting Research Fellow of the Council of the British Research in the Levant (CBRL), Kenyon Institute, East Jerusalem
2009 - 2010Mellon Scholar, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
2008 - 2009Visiting Fellow at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, USA
2009M.A. in Medieval History, German Studies, and Islamic Art History, University of Bamberg, Germany
2008Master of Studies in Ancient History, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

 

My Commitment to AGYA
Fomer AGYA Co-President (2022-2023)
Selection Committee 'New AGYA Members' (2019-2021)
Participation in 'Salon Sophie Charlotte' (2019, 2023)

On a personal note

Must read in my discipline:
The Roman Near East by Fergus Millar

Favourite novel: 
The Flounder by Günter Grass

The scientist from my country you should know:
Theodor Mommsen, Historian and Nobel Laureate in Literature