Karen Radner (11 May 1972) is an Austrian
Assyriologist
Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...
, the
Alexander von Humboldt Professor of
Ancient History
Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...
at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
.
Early life and education
Karen Radner started her studies at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
in 1990 in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Archaeology. She graduated in 1994 with an MA (summa cum laude) and 1997 with a PhD (summa cum laude). Her doctoral work was titled ''Die neuassyrischen Privatrechtsurkunden als Quelle für Mensch und Umwelt'' ("The Neo-Assyrian Private Legal Documents as Source for Mankind and Environment"). This study was published in 1997 as part of the
State Archives of Assyria Studies Series (Vol. 6) based at the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
.
Following her doctoral studies, Radner spent two years in the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
as a junior research fellow (1997-1999) and one year at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
as a research fellow (1999). In 1999, Radner moved to the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
as a research assistant and started her
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
, which was completed in 2004 and is entitled "Die Macht des Namens. Altorientalische Strategien zur Selbsterhaltung" ("The Power of a Name: Ancient Near Eastern Strategies for Self-Preservation"). This was published in 2005. From 2005-2015, Radner worked at
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
as a lecturer, reader, and then professor in Ancient Near Eastern History. During this time, she was also a guest professor at the
University of Verona, the
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669.
It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
, UCL Qatar, Doha, and
Koç University, Istanbul.
Humboldt Professorship
In 2015, Radner won an
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Award in Classical and Ancient Studies. As part of this award, she received a professorship at the University of Munich, where she is the Alexander von Humboldt-Professur für die Alte Geschichte des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens (Alexander von Humboldt Professor for the Ancient History of the Near and Middle East) as part of th
Faculty of History and the Arts, Department of History: Ancient Historyprogram.
She is also a member of th
Project leadership
Radner has led several projects, including
"'Assyrian empire builders:' Governors, Diplomats and Soldiers in the Service of Sargon II and Tiglath-pileser III, Kings of Assyria"and
"Knowledge and Power in the Neo-Assyrian Empire"
Other honors and awards
In 2016, Radner was elected to the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...
). Since 2015, Radner has also been an Honorary Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History at University College London.
Publications
*Die neuassyrischen Privatrechtsurkunden als Quelle für Mensch und Umwelt (= State archives of Assyria studies. Band 6). Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki 1997, (zugleich Dissertation, Wien 1997).
*The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire 1/I: A. Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki 1998, .
*The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire 1/II. B–G. Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki 1999, .
*Ein neuassyrisches Privatarchiv der Tempelgoldschmiede von Assur (= Studien zu den Assur-Texten. Band 1). Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, Saarbrücken 1999, (zugleich Diplomarbeit, Wien 1994).
*Neuassyrische Rechtsurkunden II (= Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft. Band 98). Hinrichs, Leipzig 2000, .
*Die neuassyrischen Texte aus Tall Šēḫ Ḥamad (= Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Šēḫ Ḥamad/Dūr-Katlimmu. Band 6). Reimer, Berlin 2002, .
* Das mittelassyrische Tontafelarchiv von Giricano, Dunnu-sa-Uzibi (= Subartu. Band 14). Brepols, Turnhout 2004, .
* Die Macht des Namens. Altorientalische Strategien zur Selbsterhaltung (= SANTAG – Arbeiten und Untersuchungen zur Keilschriftskunde. Band 8). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005, (zugleich Habilitationsschrift, München 2004).
* as editor with Eleanor Robson: The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011, .
* as editor: State Correspondences of the Ancient World from the New Kingdom to the Roman Empire. From New Kingdom Egypt to the Roman Empire (= Oxford Studies in Early Empires). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, .
* Ancient Assyria (= Very short introductions. Stimulating ways in to new subjects. Band 424). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2015, .
* with Peter A. Miglus and Franciszek M. Stępniowski: Ausgrabungen in Assur: Wohnquartiere in der Weststadt, Teil I (= Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft. Band 152). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2016, .
* as editor with Florian Janoscha Kreppner and Andrea Squitieri: Exploring the Neo-Assyrian Frontier with Western Iran: The 2015 Season at Gird-i Bazar and
Qalat-i Dinka (= Peshdar Plain Project Publications. Band 1). PeWe-Verlag, Gladbeck 2016, (online).
* as editor with Florian Janoscha Kreppner and Andrea Squitieri: Unearthing the Dinka Settlement Complex: The 2016 Season at Gird-i Bazar and Qalat-i Dinka (= Peshdar Plain Project Publications. Band 2). PeWe-Verlag, Gladbeck 2017, (online).
*Mesopotamien. Die frühen Hochkulturen an Euphrat und Tigris. Beck, München 2017, .
*The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: From the Beginnings to Old Kingdom Egypt and the Dynasty of Akkad (multi volume series, 2020—2024, co-editor with
Daniel T. Potts and
Nadine Moeller).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radner, Karen
Austrian Assyriologists
1972 births
Living people
University of Vienna alumni
Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich