Dr J.M.C. van den Bent (Josephine)

Josephine van den Bent studied Arabic and History at the University of Amsterdam, where she also obtained her PhD in 2020. Her dissertation, entitled 'Mongols in Mamluk Eyes', investigated the representation of the Mongols in the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt and Syria, and the ways in which contemporary scholars were involved in processes of ethnic identification, categorisation and othering and the ways in which such representations of the Mongols were used for various purposes in response to, and in interaction with, the sultanate’s complex ethnic and political contexts.

She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in the project 'Source of Life', researching water management in premodern Middle Eastern cities. These cities required water for many purposes and in different places, but were (and are) located in areas where water is relatively scarce. The project investigates how water was provided and managed by combining historical and archaeological research, and explores the interrelationship between water installations, governance and cultural and legal frameworks, Within this project, Van den Bent focuses on water provision in the cities of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul (700-1500 CE).