dr. R.N. (Ruwan) van der Iest

In January of 2023, Ruwan N. van der Iest has successfully defended his doctoral thesis 'A Study on Judean Cultural Identity in Egypt during the Fifth Century BCE: Characterizing Judean Cultural Identity using elements of Judean Matrimonial Law attested in the Aramaic Matrimonial Property Arrangements from Elephantine Island'.

His research interests include the Aramaic papyri from Elephantine Island, questions related to the importance of law in the formation of cultural identity, ancient legal systems and the history of Ancient Egypt.

He is currently employed as a lecturer in Ancient Greek language acquisition.

Education

University of Leiden:

2015-2017: MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations: Assyriology 

Specialization: Neo-Babylonian period (Prebends and Royal Inscriptions)

Additional courses in Hebrew and Aramaic studies and Ancient Greek (Historical) Linguistics

University of Groningen:

2015-2018: MA Theology and Religious Studies (research)

Specialization: Old Testament and Qumran studies

Additional courses in Classics, (Frisian) Linguistics and Arabic 

Previous Employment

Research Assistant:

ERC-project: Hands that Wrote the Bible: Digital Palaeography and Scribal Culture of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Teaching Assistant:

Biblical Hebrew

Ancient Greek

Further Qualifications:

University Teaching Qualification (UTQ)

Further Activities:

Secretary of CRASIS (2019-2020)