Dr Kimberley Czajkowski (DPhil, MSt, MLitt, MA (Oxon))

Senior Lecturer in Ancient History

Biography

Background

I was first sucked in to the ancient world when I studied Latin at school, and my interests soon broadened from there. During my undergraduate degree (Literae Humaniores, Oxford, 2006-10) I became more interested in religions in the ancient world and the intersection of Jewish and Roman history. I developed this further during a MLitt in Ancient History at St Andrews (2010-11), which then led to my taking a MSt in Jewish Studies (2011-12) back at Oxford. I stayed on for my DPhil Ancient History (2012-15), before moving to Germany for a couple of years, where I was a post-doc at the University of Muenster (2014-16). I joined the department at Edinburgh in 2016.

Responsibilities & affiliations

Edinburgh

Member of the Steering Committee for the Edinburgh Jewish Studies Network

Member of the Steering Committee for the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins

Co-Investigator (HCA Lead) PTAS Project: Co-Creation on a New Development Needs Analysis for PGR Students

External

AHRC Peer Review College Member (2022-2025)

SGSAH Catalyst Member, Archaeology and Classics (2021-2024)

External Examiner (UG and PG taught programmes in Ancient History, Archaeology, and Classical Studies), University of St Andrews (2018-2021)

Review Editor of STRATA (2017-2020)

Corresponding Member of the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research, University of St Andrews

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Member of the Steering Committee for the Society of Biblical Literature Hellenistic Judaism Section.

Member of the editorial board for Roman Relations. Connected Histories in an Age of (R)evolution(De Gruyter).

Member of the editorial board for Edinburgh Studies in Religion in Antiquity (Edinburgh University Press). 

Fellowships

Tytus Fellowship (2026). Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati. 

DAAD Short Term Research Fellowship (2022).  Seminar für Alte Geschichte, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

IAS Visiting Fellowship; Forrest Fellowship (2019). Institute of Advanced Studies, The University of Western Australia

Visiting Professor (2017). Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität Zürich

 

Undergraduate teaching

Subhonours Courses 2023-2024:

Ancient History 2a: Past and Present in the Ancient World (Semester 1; Course Organiser; Team Taught)

Ancient History 2b: Themes and Theories in Ancient History (Semester 2; Team Taught)

Roman World 1b (Semester 2; Team Taught)

Honours Teaching

Roman Egypt (Semester 1)

The Jewish Diaspora in the Roman Empire (Semester 2)

Postgraduate teaching

Skills and Methods in Classics (Semester 1; Team Taught)

The Jewish Diaspora in the Roman Empire (Semester 2)

Herod the Great and the End of Hellenism (Semester 2; Online Course; So-Taught with B Eckhardt)

 

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Research summary

At base, what I am interested in is how provincial agents interact with the Roman imperial order, and what those interactions tell us about both parties. Legal transactions often provide a fascinating way into this: different rules and understandings of them meet, are negotiated, and can be recognised or discarded in this process of interaction.

My research  often concentrates on the history of the Near Eastern provinces under the Roman Empire, though I am interested in the legal culture of the empire much more broadly: there are fruitful comparisons to be made between Eastern and Western provincial patterns of behaviour in this realm that are sometimes missed or underplayed.  I also have broader interests in the history of the Jewish people (born out of my work on the Near East), Roman Egypt, Roman law and ‘Romanization’. 

Places: 

  • Europe
  • Near East

Themes: 

  • Ancient Civilisations
  • Culture
  • Imperialism
  • Religion
  • Society

Periods: 

  • Antiquity

Invited speaker

Upcoming

  • Origins and Lawgivers. Josephus on the Origin of Nations, University of Edinburgh
  • (Title TBC) Legal Theory and Rabbinic Literature Panel, Society of Biblical Literature, Boston
  • (Title TBC) Rabbis and/as Romans Panel, Society of Biblical Literature, Boston
  • (Title TBC) Roman Law in Non-Legal Writings. Romans, Greeks, Jews and Christians. Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung, Munich

2025

  • The Emperor, the Law and the Jews in the Early Roman Empire. Gruss Conference on Jewish Law: Empire, Law, Violence and the Jews, Pennsylvania Carey Law School

2024

  • Imperial Correspondence, Embassies, and the Jews in the Julio-Claudian Era. Empire of Correspondence: Roman Imperial Letters as Literature and State Messaging, 31 B.C.E.–534 C.E, University of Colorado

2023

  • P. Yadin 5: Language, Translation and ‘Consolidation’.Consolidation of Law: Experiencing Ancient Documents, Käte Hamburger Kolleg, University of Muenster
  • With Benedikt Eckhardt . Emplotting Fragments. New Approaches to the Study of Imperial Historiography, University of St Andrews
  • Law and Empire. Impact of Hellenistic Empires, “Law and Agency” Panel. European Association of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Siracusa. 

2022

  • With Benedikt Eckhardt. Universitas Iudaeorum: The Legal Status of Jewish Communities and Its Implications. Seminar on Jewish History and Literature in the Graeco-Roman Period, University of Oxford
  • Legal Pluralism and Dispute Resolution in the Shadow of Empire. Rechtshistorikertag, University of Zürich
  • Imagining Governors in the Roman Empire. World of the Roman Governor: Meeting II. Kings College London and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Hybrid)
  • The Jews of Antioch between City and Empire. Kolloquium des Seminars für Alte Geschichte, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
  • Panel Member for review of Berthelot, Jews and their Roman Rivals. European Association of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Toulouse. 

2021

  • Herod’s Reign: Between History and Historiography. Making Sense of Monarchy, Panel at Australasian Society for Classical Studies Conference (Online)
  • Resolving Disputes in the Roman Empire: Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. The Roman Empire without Rome', Wiles Colloquium, Queen's University Belfast
  • Nicolaus and the Wealth of Kings. Making Sense of Monarchy, UWA and University of Sydney (Online)
  • The Jews of Antioch between City and Empire. Tübinger Internationales Symposium, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

2020

  • With Benedikt Eckhardt. The King's Man? Nicolaus of Damascus on Herod the Great. Seminar on Jewish History and Literature in the Graeco-Roman Period, University of Oxford
  • The Governor and Imperial Ideology: Perceptions from the Periphery. The Worlds of the Roman Governor: Meeting I. Kings College London and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Online).

2019

  • Empire of Law(s)? The Limits of Legal Pluralism in the Roman Empire. Classics Research Seminar, Newcastle University
  • Law and Empire in Roman Arabia. Symposium: Legal Pluralism, Ancient and Modern. The University of Western Australia
  • Autocratic Justice in Josephus’ Antiquities. Classics Research Seminar, University of Western Australia
  • Herod between History and Historiography. Ancient History Seminar, University of Oxford

2017

  • Legal Pluralism, Legal Cultures and Private Archives: Back to Babatha. Family Law(s) Under The Roman Empire, University of Edinburgh (in cooperation with Tel Aviv)
  • Law and Administration at the Edges of Empire: The Case of Dura-Europos. St Andrews Classics Research Seminar Series
  • Jewish Organizations in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. Synagogues in the Hellenistic-Roman Period, University of Münster
  • The Status of Jewish Communities in Alexandria. Associations and Religion in the Post-Classical Polis: Reconsidering the Case of Judaism, University of Bremen
  • Becoming Roman, Staying Jewish? Revisiting the Babatha and Salome Komaise Archives. Edinburgh Biblical Studies Research Seminar

2016

  • Power, Politics and Law in Josephan Trial Narratives. Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Antonio
  • 'Historiographical Law’? Trials and travails in Josephus and Nicolaus. Edinburgh Classics Research Seminars
  • With Dr. B. Eckhardt. 'Roman Law’ as Status Marker: Thoughts from East and West. Ancient law in context research network, University of Edinburgh

2015

  • Literacy and Law in the documentary finds from the Judaean Desert. Annual Meeting of Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta
  • Law Made Local: The Babatha Archive. Legal Pluralism and the Perception of the Law of the Other, MFO Oxford

2014

  • Legal Knowledge in Roman Arabia: The Judaean Desert Documents. Seminar on Jewish History and Literature in the Graeco-Roman Period, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford 

Organiser

  • Josephus on the Origin of Nations (July 2025)

International Workshop organized with Benedikt Eckhardt. Participants: Dr Rotem Avneri Meir, Dr David Friedman, Ms Antonia Lakner (Tübingen), Prof. Sarah Pearce (Southampton) Dr Meron Piotrkowski.

  • Josephus and His Sources (2024)

International Workshop organized with Benedikt Eckhardt. Participants: Dr Rotem Avneri Meir, Dr David Friedman, Dr Judith Göppinger, Dr Renske Janssen, Dr Meron Piotrkowski,.

  • Ancient Law in Context: Law and Education (2023)

Meeting of international network set up over ten years ago by Paul du Plessis and Ulrike Roth; this instance organized with Benedikt Eckhardt and Paul du Plessis. Nine speakers from four countries.

  • Trial Narratives under the Roman Empire (2018)

International workshop funded by the Past and Present Society (£1600) on “Trial Narratives under the Roman Empire” (Edinburgh, July 2018). Participants: Prof. Jean-Jacques Aubert, Prof. Helen Bond, Prof. Ari Bryen, Prof. Jill Harries, Prof. Saundra Schwartz, Prof. Kaius Tuori.

  • Theorizing Contacts in the Roman Empire (2017)

In collaboration with Dr Andreas Gavrielatos. International conference, funded by Past and Present Society (£2000) and ICS Conference Grant (£498) (Edinburgh, December 2017). 26 speakers, 10 posters.

  • Law in the Roman Provinces (2016)

In collaboration with Dr Benedikt Eckhardt and Dr Meret Strothmann. International conference funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (€18,000) (Münster, 2016). An edited volume developed from the conference papers was published by OUP in 2020.

More video

In the press

Public Lectures and Talks

2025. Being Jewish under Rome: The Babatha Archive. Student History Society, University of Edinburgh.

2020. Re-Approaching the Babatha Archive. Student Classics Society, University of Edinburgh.

2019. Law in the Shadow of Empire: Imperial Ideology and Indigenous Agency in the Roman World. IAS The University of Western Australia

2018. "Life in the Roman Empire: What can we learn from the papyri?"  Winchester College (School Event)

2017. With Prof. Helen Bond. Judaean Coinage: Two Case Studies. Coins and the Bible, University of Edinburgh (Outreach Event)

Books:

2021. Co-authored with B. Eckhardt. Herod in History: Nicolaus of Damascus and the Augustan Context. Oxford University Press.

2017. Localized Law: The Babatha and Salome Komaise Archives. Oxford Studies in Roman Society and Law. Oxford University Press.

 

Edited Books:

2024. With D. A. Friedman. Looking In, Looking Out: Jews and Non-Jews in Mutual Contemplation. Essays for Martin Goodman on His 70th Birthday. Leiden: Brill. 

2020. With B. Eckhardt, in collaboration with M. Strothmann (eds).Law in the Roman Provinces. Oxford Studies in Roman Society and Law. Oxford University Press. 

 

Articles and Chapters:

Forthcoming (in press), 2025. Identity Construction in Alexandria: Greeks, Jews and Romans. In: J. Skinner, V. Manolopoulou and C. Tsouparopoulou, eds. Identities in Antiquity. Abingdon: Routledge (page numbers not yet available).

2025. The Jewish Wars, the Roman Emperors and their Impact. In: R. Raja, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic and Roman Syria and the Near East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.311-324.

2024. The Jews of Antioch between City and Empire. In: T. Forderer and D. Schumann , eds. Antiochia I: Frühchristliche und diasporajüdische Identitätsbildung im Ausstrahlungsbereich einer antiken Großstadt. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp.95-114.  

2024. The Need for Rabbinic Nomikoi: A Response to Yair Furstenberg. Journal for the Study of Judaism 55:1, pp.65-75.

2022. The Parchments and Papyri. In: T. Kaizer, ed. Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 105-113.

2021. Legal Knowledge and its Transmission in Three Marriage Contracts from the Judaean Desert. In: K. Berthelot, N. B. Dohrmann and C. Nemo-Pekelman (eds.) Legal Engagement: The Reception of Roman Law and Tribunals by Jews and Other Inhabitants of the Empire. Rome: École Française de Rome, pp.251-269.

2021. Co-authored with S. Wackenier. Legal Strategies of Judaeans in Herakleopolis, Middle Egypt, according to the Archives of the Politeuma. Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 9:4, pp.415-434. 

2020. “Synagogues” in Ptolemaic and Early Roman Egypt. In: Lutz Doering and Andrew R. Krause (eds.), in co-operation with Hermut Löhr. Synagogues in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Archaeological Finds, New Methods, New Theories. Ioudaioi 11. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp.295-312.

2020. Co-authored with B. Eckhardt. Introduction. In: K. Czajkowski and B. Eckhardt (eds.) Law in the Roman Provinces. Oxford: OUP, pp. 1-15.

2020. Law and Romanization in Judaea. In: K. Czajkowski and B. Eckhardt (eds.) Law in the Roman Provinces. Oxford: OUP, pp. 84-100.

2020. Law and Administration at the Edges of Empire: The Case of Dura-Europos. In: K. Czajkowski and B. Eckhardt (eds.) Law in the Roman Provinces. Oxford: OUP, pp. 115-133.

2019. The Limits of Legal Pluralism in the Roman Empire. The Journal of Legal History 40:2, pp.110-129. 

2019. Jewish Associations at Alexandria? In: B. Eckhardt (ed.), Private Associations and Jewish Communities in the Hellenistic and Roman Cities. JSJSup. Leiden: Brill, pp. 76-96.

2019. Law in the Babatha and Salome Komaise Archives: A New Approach. In: J. Frey and N. Rupschus (eds.) Frauen im antiken Judentum und frühen Christentum. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 107-115.

2018. Co-authored with B. Eckhardt. Law, Status and Agency in the Roman Provinces. Past & Present 241, pp.3-31.

2017. Civil Strife, Power and Authority in the Judicial Sphere: A Case Study from Roman Palestine. Klio 99:2, pp.566-585.

2016.  Justice in Client Kingdoms: The Many Trials of Herod’s Sons. Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 65:4, pp. 473–496

2016. Lost and Stolen Property at Qumran: The “Oath of Adjuration”. Journal for the Study of Judaism 47, pp. 88–103.

2015. Jewish Attitudes towards the Imperial Cult. Scripta Classica Israelica 34, pp. 181-94.

 

Encyclopaedia Articles:

2022. Naḥal Ḥever | Judaism. Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception.

2020. Babatha. Oxford Classical Dictionary. 

2019. Senatus Consultum Tertullianum. Oxford Classical Dictionary.

2019. Senatus Consultum Orfitianum. Oxford Classical Dictionary. 

 

Reviews:

2025. Robert A. Kugler, Resolving Disputes in Second Century BCE Herakleopolis: A Study in Jewish Legal Reasoning in Hellenistic Egypt. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 201 (Leiden: Brill, 2022). Pp. xii+274. €126.44. ISBN: 978-90-04-50563-6 (Hardback) / ISBN: 978-90-04-50828-6 (eBook). Journal for the Study of Judaism 56:2 (page numbers not yet available).

2021. Hekster, O. and Verboven, K. (eds), The Impact of Justice on the Roman Empire: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Gent, June 21–24, 2017). Impact of Empire: Roman Empire 34. Leiden: Brill, 2019. Journal of Roman Studies 110, pp.349-350

2020. Petersen, J. Recht bei Tacitus. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2019. The Classical Review 70:1, pp. 126-128.

2017. Schwartz, S. From bedroom to courtroom: law and justice in the Greek novel. Ancient narrative supplementum, 21. Groningen: Barkhuis; Groningen University Library, 2016. Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

2016. Bradley Ritter: Judeans in the Greek Cities of the Roman Empire. Rights, Citizenship and Civil Discord, Leiden / Boston: Brill 2015, Sehepunkte 16:9. 

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