Alexander Ilin-Tomich

Egyptologist, Privatdozent and Research Associate at the Institute of Ancient Studies / Egyptology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Participant in the DFG Heisenberg Programme with the project Transmission, historical references, and functional classifications of the ubiquitous in ancient Egyptian culture. Maintainer of the database Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom and Early New Kingdom.

Profiles

Mainz University | ORCID 0000-0003-4287-8180 | Academia.edu | Github

Publications (selection)

Monographs

Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. Egyptian Name Scarabs from the 12th to the 15th Dynasty: Geography and Chronology of Production. Contributions to the Archaeology of Egypt, Nubia and the Levant 16. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2023. https://www.doi.org/10.13173/9783447120432. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. From Workshop to Sanctuary: The Production of Late Middle Kingdom Memorial Stelae. Middle Kingdom Studies 6. London: Golden House, 2017.

Editorial activity

Gerhards, Simone, Nadine Gräßler, Svenja A. Gülden, et al., eds. Schöne Denkmäler sind entstanden: Studien zu Ehren von Ursula Verhoeven. Heidelberg: Propylaeum, 2023. https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.1085. Open access.

Papers

Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Visible-Induced Infrared Luminescence of Egyptian Blue and the Great Ones of Mitanni and Hatti.” Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 45 (2025): 21–41. Link to publication. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander, and Vanessa Boschloos. “Beyond the Most Obviously Interesting: Aims and Methods in Documenting and Processing Scarabs.” In Excavating the Extra-Ordinary 2: Challenges & Merits of Working with Small Finds. Proceedings of the International Workshop at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 25–26 November 2022, edited by Andrea Kilian, Alexander Pruß, and Monika Zöller-Engelhardt, 125–32. Heidelberg: Propylaeum, 2024. https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.1382.c19772. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Aufwärter der Bier- und Brotkammer Sa-ii und Eje, ihre Verwandtschaft und Berufsstand.” In Schöne Denkmäler sind entstanden: Studien zu Ehren von Ursula Verhoeven, edited by Simone Gerhards, Nadine Grässler, Svenja A. Gülden, et al., 179–99. Heidelberg: Propylaeum, 2023. https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.1085.c16601. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Glücksbringer.” In Ägypten ganz nah: 150 Begegnungen mit der Kultur Altägyptens, edited by Olivia Zorn, 140–56. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2023.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Minor Contributions to Middle Kingdom Prosopography.” In The World of Middle Kingdom Egypt III: Contributions on Archaeology, Art, Religion, and Written Sources, edited by Gianluca Miniaci and Wolfram Grajetzki, 207–17. Middle Kingdom Studies 12. London: Golden House, 2022. https://egittologia.cfs.unipi.it/en/publications/series/middle-kingdom-studies/. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “The Vizier Ankhu and the Dual Vizierate in the Late Middle Kingdom.” Journal of Egyptian History 14 (2021): 145–69. https://doi.org/10.1163/18741665-12340075.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Royal court on a visit to Thebes: palace officials and local hosts in papyrus Boulaq 18.” In Pratiques administratives et comptables au Proche-Orient à l’âge du Bronze, edited by Ilya Arkhipov, Grégory Chambon, and Nele Ziegler, 159–67. Publications de l’Institut du Proche-Orient Ancien du Collège de France 4. Leuven: Peeters, 2021. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “The Governor’s Court in Late Middle Kingdom Antaeopolis.” Revue d’Égyptologie 68 (2018): 61–78. https://doi.org/10.2143/RE.68.0.3285267.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Ikonografische Datierungskriterien für Privatopfertafeln der 12. Dynastie.” Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 47 (2018): 57–87. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Mögliche Dialektmerkmale in den Personennamen des Mittleren Reiches.” Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 145 (2018): 136–48. https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2018-0012. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Female Titles Specific to Southern Upper Egypt in the Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period.” Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 26 (2018): 19–36. Link to publication. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Centralized and Local Production, Adaptation, and Imitation Twelfth Dynasty Offering Tables.” In The Arts of Making in Ancient Egypt: Voices, Images, and Objects of Material Producers 2000-1550 BC, edited by Gianluca Miniaci, Juan Carlos Moreno García, Stephen Quirke, and Andréas Stauder, 81–100. Leiden: Sidestone, 2018. https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-arts-of-making-in-ancient-egypt. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Regional Administration in Late Middle Kingdom Egypt.” In Egypt 2015: Perspectives of Research Proceedings of the Seventh European Conference of Egyptologists 2nd-7th June 2015, Zagreb, Croatia, edited by Mladen Tomorad and Joanna Popielska-Grzybowska, 307–18. Archaeopress Egyptology 18. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2017. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Second Intermediate Period.” In UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, edited by Wolfram Grajetzki and Willeke Wendrich. Los Angeles, 2016. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/72q561r2. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Theban Administration in the Late Middle Kingdom.” Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 142 (2015): 120–53. https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2015-0012. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “King Seankhibra and the Middle Kingdom Appeal to the Living.” In The World of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2000-1550 BC): Contributions on Archaeology, Art, Religion, and Written Sources. Volume I, edited by Gianluca Miniaci and Wolfram Grajetzki, 145–68. Middle Kingdom Studies 1. London: Golden House, 2015. https://egittologia.cfs.unipi.it/en/publications/series/middle-kingdom-studies/. Open access. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “The Theban Kingdom of Dynasty 16: Its Rise, Administration and Politics.” Journal of Egyptian History 7 (2014): 143–93. https://doi.org/10.1163/18741665-12340016. Download as PDF.
Sokolova, Marina, and Alexander Ilin-Tomich. “Twelve Notes on Ipuwer.” Chronique d’Égypte 88, no. 176 (2013): 261–72. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.CDE.1.103755.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Late Middle Kingdom Stelae Workshops at Thebes.” Göttinger Miszellen 234 (2012): 69–84. Link to publication. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “A Twelfth Dynasty Stela Workshop Possibly from Saqqara.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 97 (2011): 117–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/030751331109700108. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Changes in the ḥtp-dj-nsw formula in the late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period.” Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 138 (2011): 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1524/zaes.2011.0003. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Two Notes on Middle Kingdom Annals.” Lingua Aegyptia 18 (2010): 119–29. Download as PDF.

Book reviews

Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. Review of Dossiers of Ancient Egyptians – the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period: Addition to Franke’s “Personendaten,” by Wolfram Grajetzki and Danijela Stefanović. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71, nos. 1–2 (2014): 139–45. https://doi.org/10.2143/BIOR.71.1.3034656. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander, and Timofey Shmakov. Review of It Is My Good Name That You Should Remember: Egyptian Biographical Texts on Middle Kingdom Stelae, by Renata Landgráfová. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71, nos. 5–6 (2014): 738–43. https://doi.org/10.2143/BIOR.71.5.3073487. Open access.

Datasets

Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom and Early New Kingdom.” Version 6. 2025. https://pnm.uni-mainz.de/info.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom and Early New Kingdom. Supplementary Material to the Database. Study Photographs of Inscriptions in Theban Tombs 22, 62, 140, 164, 182, 204, 228, 231, 234, 239.” OSF, 2024. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/2SBDX. Open access.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander, and Tobias Konrad. “Bibliography of Egyptological Databases and Datasets.” 2024. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10691756.

Software and online tools

Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. Transliteration to Unicode Converter. Released 2025. https://pnm.uni-mainz.de/tools/unicode/.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. Egyptological Museum Search. Released 2025. https://static.egyptology.ru/varia/mus.php.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. Umschriftpy: A Python 3 Library for Dealing with Egyptological Transliteration/Transcription. Released 2024. https://github.com/ailintom/umschriftpy.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. OEB to Zotero. V. 1.3. Released 2021. https://static.egyptology.ru/varia/oeb2zotero.html.

Presentations (selection)

Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Gender-Specific Personal Names in the Middle Kingdom and Early New Kingdom.” Gender, social group and (self-)representation: Intersectional identities in IIIrd - early IInd millennium BCE Egypt, Nubia and Near East, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, May 17, 2025. https://www.archaeologie.hu-berlin.de/de/aknoa/veranstaltungen/konferenzen/gender-social-group-and-self-representation-intersectional-identities-in-iiird-early-iind-millennium-bce-egypt-nubia-and-near-east.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Ein digitales Namenbuch und Prosopographie zum Ägypten des Mittleren und frühen Neuen Reichs wohin mit den Objektmetadaten?” Objekt Text Bild: NFDI4Objects CC Objekte als Inschriftenträger Workshop, Brugsch Pascha Saal, Archäologisches Zentrum, Berlin, April 28, 2025.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Mal was Neues, mal was Fremdes, mal was Heterogenes: Personennamen der 18. Dynastie.” Invited talk. Freie Universität Berlin. Institut für Ägyptologie, Berlin, January 29, 2025.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Titles in Thebes in the 13th–18th Dynasties: Continuity and Change.” Working Titles: Understanding the use of official titles during the New Kingdom, Copenhagen, July 3, 2024.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Some Patterns in the Distribution of Titles on Family Monuments.” XIIIth International Congress of Egyptologists, Leiden, September 8, 2023.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Scarab Traits as Seen by Scarab Producers in Middle Bronze Age Egypt.” Production, Distribution, and Groups in Stamp Seal Research, Zürich, September 2, 2023.
Boschloos, Vanessa, and Alexander Ilin-Tomich. “From Dig to Digital: The Future of Scarab Documentation.” Poster. XIIIth International Congress of Egyptologists, Leiden, August 2023. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Different Class: Personennamen und soziale Unterschiede im Mittleren Reich.” 54. Ständige Ägyptologiekonferenz, Universität zu Köln, February 7, 2023.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Goats and Lions: Differences in the Scarab Repertoires of Tell El-Yahudiya and Tell El-Dabʿa in the Second Intermediate Period.” Contexts and Objects of the Second Intermediate Period: Pulling the Information Together and Prospects for Further Work, Vienna, January 6, 2023.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “From Serving Political Goals to Projecting Soviet-Type Lifestyles on Ancient Egypt. Peculiarities of Eastern Bloc and Soviet Egyptologies.” Onwards, Upwards into the Past? Classics in the Political Discourse, Mainz, December 16, 2022.
Boschloos, Vanessa, and Alexander Ilin-Tomich. “Beyond the Most Obviously Interesting. Aims and Methods in Documenting and Processing Scarabs.” Excavating the Extra-Ordinary 2. Challenges & Merits of Working with Small Finds, Mainz, November 26, 2022.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Altägyptische Namensgebung im interkulturellen Vergleich.” Inaugural lecture. Habilitation process in Egyptology, Mainz, June 29, 2022.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Patterns of Name-Giving and Challenges for Identifying Persons in Middle Kingdom Egypt.” »In the Time(s) of My Father and of My Father’s Father …« Genealogy and Prosopography as Sources for Historical Chronology, Vienna, May 5, 2022.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Codifying (Un)Certainties in an Ontology for a Prosopography of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom.” Poster. Linked Pasts 6, April 12, 2020. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Privatstelen in den ersten 70 Jahren des Neuen Reiches: Bildunabhängige Kriterien zur Bestimmung eines Bildkorpus.” 51. Ständige Ägyptologenkonferenz, Basel, June 7, 2019.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Royal-Name Scarabs of Dynasties 14-15 in the Context of Other Contemporary Seals.” Hyksos Workshop – Changing Clusters and Migration in the Near Eastern Bronze Age, Vienna, May 12, 2019.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Hetephathor or Hathorhetepti: Tackling the Spread of the Stative in Middle Kingdom Personal Names.” International Congress of Egyptologists XII, Cairo, May 11, 2019. Download as PDF.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Herrscher von Byblos als ägyptische Provinzialbeamte: Neues zum Produktionsort und Datierung der Skarabäen mit Namen der „Gouverneure von Byblos“.” 50. Ständige Ägyptologenkonferenz, Münster, July 14, 2018.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Die Skarabäen von Tell el-Dab‘a im Lichte einer Neuuntersuchung der beschrifteten Skarabäen.” Invited talk. Institut für Orientalische und Europäische Archäologie der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, November 10, 2017.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Wurden die Beamtenskarabäen des Mittleren Reiches zentral hergestellt?” 48. Neue Forschungen zur ägyptischen Kultur und Geschichte, Leipzig, August 6, 2017.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Werkstätten und lokale Traditionen: Die Herstellung von Votivstelen des späten Mittleren Reiches.” Invited talk. Freie Universität Berlin. Ägyptologisches Seminar, Berlin, July 13, 2016.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Influences and Directions of Expertise Sharing in Late Middle Kingdom Egypt: Diffusion of Novel Traits across the Centres of Stela Production.” Voices, images, and artefacts of ancient craftsmen/women: encountering the material producers of Middle Bronze Age Egypt (2000-1500 BC), Paris, June 24, 2016.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “The Sale of a Necropolis: The Diffusion of Middle Kingdom Stelae from Rizeikat (1882–1935).” At the dawn of Russian Egyptology. The 160th birth anniversary of Vladimir Golenisсhev, Moscow, February 2, 2016.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Place of Production: Itjtawy.” Ancient Egypt Transformed: The Middle Kingdom, New York, January 24, 2016.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Regional Administration in Late Middle Kingdom Egypt: From a Negative towards a Positive Definition.” CECE7 — VIIth European conference of Egyptologists. Egypt 2015: Perspectives of research, Zagreb, June 6, 2015.
Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. “Beyond Workshops: Local Traditions in the Production of Private Late Middle Kingdom Stelae.” (Re)productive Traditions in Ancient Egypt, Liège, July 2, 2013.

Contact

Alexander Ilin-Tomich

Institut für Altertumswissenschaften, Ägyptologie
FB 07, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
55099 Mainz, Deutschland

Tel.: +49 6131 39 38345
E-Mail: ailintom@uni-mainz.de