Areas of Expertise

Arabian Epigraphy
History of Arabic Language
Semitic Linguistics
Pre-Islamic Arabic

Education

Ph.D., Harvard University, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
MA, Harvard University, Semitic Philology

Ahmad Al-Jallad is a philologist, epigraphist, and historian of language. His work focuses on the languages and writing systems of pre-Islamic Arabia and the ancient Near East.

His latest book explores Arabic’s transformation as it crosses the pre-Islam – Islam divide: “Damascus Psalm Fragment: Middle Arabic and the Legacy of Old Ḥigāzī”
(https://www.academia.edu/43189829/Al_Jallad_2020_The_Damascus_Psalm_Fragment_Middle_Arabic_and_the_Legacy_of_Old_%E1%B8%A4ig%C4%81z%C4%AB_w_a_contribution_by_R_Vollandt).

Interviews and Lectures

From an Epic Past to an Evidence-Based History:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHRbuu8c8nw&t=652s

Pre-Islamic Arabia, epigraphy, and Arabic
https://anchor.fm/bottled-petrichor/episodes/E14-Pre-Islamic-Arabia--Epigraphy--and-Arabic-with-Dr--Ahmad-Al-Jallad-eidobs

The Damascus Psalm Fragment (book interview and more)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvSlQtDGpF4&t=5326s

15 Minute History, Episode 107: The Yazid Inscription
https://15minutehistory.org/2018/05/23/episode-107-the-yazid-inscription/