Today we celebrate our colleague Anita Keizers! From 2012 until now she has been our librarian, first at Witte Singel 25/Vrieshof 4, and for the last two years at Witte Singel 27a.

Het NINO-onderzoekscentrum is op zoek naar een redactie-assistent voor ons tijdschrift Bibliotheca Orientalis. Kijk voor de werkzaamheden en functie-eisen op onze website: buff.ly/fAHBXCG Masterstudenten aan NL universiteiten in studies binnen de NINO-interessesfeer: solliciteer uiterlijk 31 juli!

Have you recently turned in your BA or MA thesis in Ancient Near Eastern studies? If you receive a really good mark, you can send it in to compete for a NINO Thesis Prize! BA first prize €400, MA €600. Submission is now open until 1 October. Full regulations and conditions: buff.ly/nmTrPSO

CALL FOR PAPERS! @[email protected] invites contributions to conference at UGroningen, 28–29 Jan. 2027: Mortuary Ritual in the Roman Near East. Current Work and Future Directions. Junior and senior scholars are invited to send proposals for papers and posters by 24 July 2026.

We are very pleased to announce that Dr Nicola Barbagli is our new NINO Postdoctoral Researcher, starting 1 September 2026! Nicola will focus research, teaching, and a conference (2027) on Roman emperors and Egypt. He will be a valuable addition to our community! We thank our search committee.

Now available in print and in open access: The Kingdom of Kizzuwatna: Recent Developments in Research. Proceedings of the Third NINO Postdoctoral Research Fellow Annual Conference, Leiden, 23rd-25th March 2023 (PIHANS 137). Edited by Andrea Trameri.

Tijdschrift voor Mediterrane Archeologie accepteert nu nieuwe bijdragen voor de 75e en 76e edities! Stuur je voorstel in voor 24 mei 2026. Richtlijnen: buff.ly/HNlbGix TMA is een Nederlands tijdschrift (2x per jaar) over actueel onderzoek naar Mediterrane archeologie en geschiedenis.

The Protestant Theological University (PThU; Utrecht, the Netherlands) has a vacancy for a PhD candidate for the project “God(s) and Morality in the Ancient Near East including the Hebrew Bible” (1 fte, 4 years, or 0,8 fte, 5 years). Apply until 31 May 2026:

On the 5th of June, a symposium on the recently published "Babylonian Chronographic Texts from the Hellenistic Period" will be organised at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. For more information and registration: buff.ly/vwDUHil. #ninoleiden #vrijeuniversiteitamsterdam

On June 8th Prof. Miguel John Versluys will be speaking about relations between the Persians and the Greeks during the upcoming edition of the bi-annual Cansisi-Weerdenburg Lecture, organised by NINO and the RMO. For more information and registration, see buff.ly/3o5Ewv8.

Coming up on the 15th of May 2026 are the application deadlines for the following NINO grants: - Conference Subsidy - Incoming and Outgoing Mobility Grants - Visiting Research Fellowship For more information and applications, see buff.ly/N0COD2T. #ninoleiden

We would like to bring to your attention that the second deadline for the NINO Senior Fellowship is on the 15th of May 2026. NINO offers both an Incoming Senior Fellowship as well as an Outgoing Senior Fellowship. For more information and applications: buff.ly/j4sF25v #ninoleiden

We would like to bring to your attention that the deadline for the NINO Fieldwork Subsidy is on the 15th of May 2026. For more information and applications, see buff.ly/DE1Z0vG. #ninoleiden

We would like to bring to your attention the upcoming deadline for the NINO Student Research Assistant Grant, which is on the 15th of May 2026. For more information and applications, see buff.ly/lLUDCJI. #ninoleiden

The international workshop "Clay in Common" will bring together specialists in Arabian ceramic studies to reflect on the current state of the field and develop collaborative strategies. The workshop will take place on 21-22 May 2026. For more information, please see buff.ly/mEzD27A.

Op 28 mei 2026 organiseert NINO samen met vereniging Ex Oriente Lux de jaarlijkse NINO/EOL-voorjaarslezing in Leiden. Ben van de Bercken zal spreken over egyptoloog Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing en zijn verzameling Egyptische Oudheden. Voor meer informatie en aanmelden, zie buff.ly/gv4KfqR.

In honor of the extension of the successful exhibition “Discovering Ancient Egypt”, Dispuut Pleyte is organizing a festive symposium in collaboration with NINO and the RMO. The symposium will take place on May 30th. For more information and the programme, please see buff.ly/GXpbjBc.

Materiality and Historical Research: A Postgraduate Workshop. Monday 20 April 2026, 13:00-17:00. Short presentations by PhD candidates on a single object, or group of objects, that can demonstrate the importance of materiality in historical research. All are welcome to attend!

NINO-bijdragen aan @weekklassieken.bsky.social 2026 “Veelstemmige oudheid. Stemmen van toen, stemmen van nu”: • Herta Mohr-lezing 17 april, “Identiteit en verbondenheid in de Oryx-provincie” (Engels) • slotmiddag 19 april, “Verschillende identiteiten in de Levant” (vol) WvdK-agenda: buff.ly/gtdRx6N

This Friday 17 April: second annual Herta Mohr Lecture! Anna-Latifa Mourad-Cizek – Identity and Connectivity at the Oryx District: Insights from the Tombs at Beni Hassan. Register your in-person or online attendance! buff.ly/RertFXl Doors open at 16.00; lecture 16.30-17.30 hrs, drinks afterwards

The BABESCH Foundation invites you to the 19th annual Byvanck Lecture by Prof. Naoíse Mac Sweeney (U Vienna): “Greeks, Persians, and Cilicians: Empire and Identity in the Iron Age”. 22 April 2026, 19:30 CET, @rmoudheden.bsky.social (Leiden). Attendance free, registration: tinyurl.com/byvanck2026

📚Vandaag presenteert Hans Schneider zijn monumentale bloemlezing van dertig eeuwen literatuur uit de tijd van de farao’s: ‘Schrijven voor de farao. Dertig eeuwen Oudegyptische literatuur’. Van harte gefeliciteerd! Meer informatie op buff.ly/2u6oGHt (1/8)

The Dutch Symposium of the Ancient Near East (DUSANE) 2026 will take place on April 16th from 11:00-16:30, in the Trajanuszaal of National Museum of Antiquities. For more information, see buff.ly/UqrCwcB #DUSANE #ninoleiden #leidenuniversity

NINO-nieuwsbrief maart 2026 – Nieuws van het NINO-onderzoekscentrum, funding reports, nieuwe publicaties, en meer:

We would like to bring to your attention that the deadline for the NINO Fieldwork Subsidy is on the 15th of May 2026. For more information and applications, please see buff.ly/7KTburs. #ninoleiden

We would like to bring to your attention that the second deadline for the NINO Senior Fellowship is on the 15th of May 2026. NINO offers both an Incoming Senior Fellowship as well as an Outgoing Senior Fellowship. For more information, see buff.ly/exlcI8C #ninoleiden #leidenuniversity

We would like to bring to your attention the upcoming deadline for the NINO Student Research Assistant Grant, which is on the 15th of May 2026. For more information and applications, please see buff.ly/rkEErhr. #ninoleiden

It should have been the first day of a wonderful conference in Baghdad today - the first time ever that the International Association of Assyriology assembled in Iraq for its annual meeting. This conference was to be the culmination of 4 years of hard work by Iraqi and international colleagues. 1/4

Memorial Volume Wilfred H. van Soldt, edited by R. de Boer and E. Zomer: twenty-four contributions by colleagues, friends, and students of the late Wilfred van Soldt. XVIII, 419 pp. ISBN 978-90-429-5464-9. € 143.10 (incl. VAT) Now available from @peeterspublishers.bsky.social !

Volume 51 of yearly journal Anatolica, featuring 9 articles on the history and archaeology of Anatolia and adjacent regions, published by the Netherlands Institute in Turkey, is now available! NINO website: buff.ly/PaMc6FS Subscriptions (print and online) via Peeters Online Journals: buff.ly/oyeXcmr

On Friday the 27th of March, NINO Visiting Research Fellow Michele Massa will give a LIAS Ancient World Lunch Talk titled: Modelling interaction in prehistoric archaeology; a case study from 3rd millennium BCE Anatolia. For more information, see buff.ly/PZIIPGH. #ninoleiden #leidenuniversity #LIAS

On the 26th of March you will be able to learn more about the collections of NINO and the Leiden Papyrological Institute during the "Collections in the Spotlight" event. For more information, see buff.ly/JrZGYyy. #ninoleiden #leidenuniversity #leidenpapyrologicalinstitute

Tijdens de slotmiddag van de Week van de Klassieken, georganiseerd door het NINO en ONOS, zullen verschillende sprekers vertellen over de stammen die leefden in de wereld van de Bijbel – de Levant. Voor meer informatie, zie buff.ly/6cuDOIi. #ninoleiden #RMO #ONOS #weekvandeklassieken

Save the date! Second annual Herta Mohr Lecture on 17 April, organised by NINO and @[email protected]: Dr. Anna-Latifa Mourad-Cizek (University of Chicago) will explore identity and connectivity in the Oryx District in Middle Egypt. More info on the NINO website: buff.ly/o7cO8CU #egyptology

Our NINO Visiting Research Fellow Dr. Michela Piccin will be giving a lecture on nature’s sublime power in Mesopotamian texts at the VU on the 20th of March. For further information and registration, see the poster. #ninoleiden #VUAmsterdam #assyriology

Jaarverslag NINO-onderzoekscentrum 2025: personeel, subsidies, publicaties, collecties, activiteiten en evenementen, onderwijs, samenwerkingen, PR en communicatie. Gratis download:

On the 26th of March you will be able to learn more about the collections of NINO and the Leiden Papyrological Institute during the "Collections in the Spotlight" event. For more information, see buff.ly/JrZGYyy. #ninoleiden #leidenuniversity #leidenpapyrologicalinstitute

𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐠𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲? Join the LeidenGlobal Dialogues on 26 Feb for a critical conversation on ethics, terminology & museum practice, with expert reflections and an open Q&A @rmoudheden.bsky.social

Blogpost from NINO Visiting Research Fellow Sigrid van Roode (Bedouin Silver) on her research project “Jewellery Between Worlds”. What if the jewellery we see in museum displays confounds ancient elements, ethnographic pieces, and modern western tastes?

The Scholten Photographic Collection (NINO) comprises ca. 22,000 original photographs that Frank Scholten took on his travels through the Middle East in 1920-1923. Some of his pictures have been used in the latest issue of the magazine ZEIT GESCHICHTE, about the history of the conflict in Palestine.

NINO offers a two-year postdoc position starting September 2026. We invite applications of researchers in Egyptology. Tasks: original research, organise international workshop, publish proceedings, teach graduate seminar. Apply until 15 March 2026. buff.ly/d3sEAKE

The program of the Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics 2026 (6-17 July) is now online! www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education... Hopefully, there will be some courses of your liking! (Hittite perhaps?) The application form will be online soon, too, so keep an eye out for it.

Takamitsu Muraoka (1939-2026), professor of Hebrew at Leiden University (1991-2003) and famous scholar in Septuagint studies, and awarded awarded the Burkitt Medal of the British Academy in 2017. He still taught in Asian countries which had suffered under Japanese militarism in the 20th century.

Aanstaande woensdag 11 februari om 20:00u geeft Mark Eertink een online lezing voor Ex Oriente Lux: “Protospijkerschrift in het RMO: Onderzoek en samenwerking”. Mis het niet!

NINO offers a two-year postdoc position starting September 2026. Between 13 February–15 March 2025, we invite applications of researchers in Egyptology. Tasks: original research, organise international workshop, publish proceedings, teach graduate seminar. Preview the vacancy text: buff.ly/n45O2iG

We are excited to offer a new funding opportunity for mid-career to senior researchers! NINO Incoming Senior Fellowships and NINO Outgoing Senior Fellowships. Upcoming deadline for applications: 15 February 2026. More info in this thread🧵

📣The NINO Postdoctoral Research Fellow 6th Annual Conference, organised by NINO postdoc Albert Planelles, is fast approaching (5-6 February).

📣LeidenGlobal has just announced its new series! We are excited to share this with you. Not in small part because Pansee Abou ElAtta (NINO) and Daniel Soliman (RMO) will reflect on the following questions:

📣NINO MA THESIS PRIZE: Let’s meet the winner and runner-up in the MA category:

📣🏆NINO THESIS PRIZES The prizes for the best theses on the Ancient Near East (BA and MA, 2025) have been awarded, and we are proud to announce the winners: