5
Feb
2026
6
Feb
2026

qibīma! Second Millennium Cuneiform Letters and their Language: Program and abstracts

NINO Postdoc Conference
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leemans hall
5 February 2026, 10:10-16:30; 6 February 2026, 10:30-16:30
qibima conference (campaign image)

NINO Postdoctoral Research Fellow 6th Annual Conference

Leiden, 5-6 February 2026

Organized by: Albert Planelles

Venue: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leemanszaal

The program and abstracts of the conference are available as a pdf; download the booklet here.

Thursday 5th February 2026

10:10-10:30Miriam Müller (NINO, Leiden)
Albert Planelles (NINO, Leiden)		Welcome and Introduction
 
Session 1
Chair: A. Planelles
10:30-11:30Jana Mynářová (Prague)Opening Lecture:
How Many Words Does It Take to Rule a Kingdom? Lexical Richness in the Amarna Letters and Beyond
11:30-12:00Janine Wende (Leipzig)Death Hyperbole as an Example for Figurative Language in Akkadian Letter Writing
12:00-13:45Lunch Break 
 
Session 2
Chair: J.C. Fincke
13:45-14:15Katrien de Graef (Ghent)Speaking with Distance: Command Strategies in Old Babylonian Letters
14:15-14:45Jan Gerrit Dercksen (Leiden)Letter Writing in Old Assyrian Society
14:45-15:30Coffee Break 
 
Session 3
Chair: P.E. Zadworny
15:30-16:00Lynn-Salammbô Zimmermann (Hamburg)Formulaic Language and Scribal Agency in Kassite Period Letters from Nippur
16:00-16:30Jacob Jan de Ridder (Leipzig)The Middle Assyrian Letter Corpus: Between Tradition and Innovation
18:30Conference dinner 

 

Friday 6th February 2026

 
Session 4
Chair: C. Waerzeggers
10:30-11:00Andrew Burlingame (Wheaton)“Send Back Word!” Innovation and Convention in Ugaritian Epistolary Language
11:00-11:30Albert Planelles (Leiden)Hiding Behind Hurrian Words: The Akkadian of the Letters Found in Qaṭna
11:30-13:00 Museum tour for speakers
13:00-14:30Lunch Break 
 
Session 5
Chair: M. Groß
14:30-15:00Willemijn Waal (Leiden)Ending on a Personal Note… Piggyback Letters from Hittite Anatolia
15:00-15:30Juan-Pablo Vita (Madrid)Letters from Kings and Merchants: The Akkadian of the Kingdom of Tyre in the Late Bronze Age
15:30-16:00Sebastian Fischer (Würzburg)Hurrian Letters and Letters Containing Hurrian Words
16:00-16:30Albert Planelles (Leiden)Closing and Farewell
16:30-18:30Borrelin Herta Mohr gebouw, LIAS common room
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