Dr Alex Loktionov

My research focuses on diachronic changes in the Ancient Egyptian justice system from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom (c.2700-1700BCE). I study the evolution of specific legal concepts and institutions as evidenced by changes in the titles of officials and legal documents from different time periods. In addition to this, I seek to draw attention to the possibility of legal pluralism in ancient Egypt, highlighting the multi-faceted nature of justice on both formal and informal levels. I also have an interest in the possibility of certain judicial and punitive concepts entering Egypt from the Mesopotamian world in the later 2nd millennium BCE.

Born in France and raised in the UK, I studied Archaeology & Anthropology at Selwyn College, Cambridge (2011-2014). I specialised in Ancient Near Eastern history with a focus on the Egyptian and Akkadian languages. After graduating with a starred first, I became a Benefactors’ Research Scholar at St. John’s College, Cambridge, where I began my ongoing work on Ancient Egyptian courts, law enforcement and conceptions of justice. In 2015, I moved to Robinson College, Cambridge as a Lewis-AHRC Research Scholar and this is where I completed my PhD (2019). In 2017, I was an AHRC IPS Doctoral Research Fellow at the Library of Congress, where I focused on the wider place of Egyptian justice in African and Near Eastern legal thought.

My first postdoctoral position was as a Bye Fellow in Egyptology at Selwyn College, Cambridge (2018-2019), which came alongside a role as Teaching Associate in Egyptian Language at the Department of Archaeology. In 2019, I was elected Lady Wallis Budge Junior Research Fellow in Egyptology at Christ's College, Cambridge, and also became a Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, where I run the Egyptian World Seminar Series. In addition to this, I am a member of the Cambridge Language Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Centre.

Alongside my research, I have a strong commitment to teaching and am currently an Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology. I have extensive experience of teaching Egyptian language, covering Old, Middle and Late Egyptian, and from October 2019 I also teach Babylonian at intermediate and advanced level.

• AHRC IPS Doctoral Research Fellow, Library of Congress (Feb-Aug 2017)
• Lord Lewis-AHRC Research Scholar, Robinson College
• Honorary Vice-Chancellor's Award, St. John's College
• Thomas Young Medal for Outstanding Distinction in Oriental Archaeology, University of Cambridge