Aaron Koller Returns to Cambridge as Regius Professor of Hebrew — and Turns to Ibn Ezra's Poetry Across Medieval Europe

The Regius Professorship of Hebrew

On 12 January 2026, the University of Cambridge and Gonville & Caius College announced the appointment of Aaron Koller as Regius Professor of Hebrew in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The Regius Professorships of Hebrew at Cambridge represent one of the oldest academic traditions in the English-speaking world, with roots extending to the sixteenth century when Henry VIII founded the position to strengthen Hebrew studies at the university.

The appointment reflects both Koller's established scholarly reputation and the university's continued commitment to Hebrew language and Jewish intellectual history as central to European humanities and biblical scholarship.

Koller's Scholarly Range

Koller brings to Cambridge a diverse research portfolio spanning:

• Biblical Hebrew language and linguistics
• Semitic languages (Aramaic, Akkadian)
• Hebrew poetry and literary tradition
• Medieval Jewish interpretation and philosophy
• History of writing and material culture
• The relationship between script and meaning in ancient texts

This breadth reflects a scholarly philosophy that views Hebrew as embedded in larger linguistic, historical and cultural systems. Understanding Hebrew means understanding not just morphology and syntax but the intellectual and material worlds in which Hebrew was written, read and interpreted.

Ibn Ezra's European Wandering

Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1164) represents one of the most remarkable figures in medieval Hebrew intellectual history. Born in Tudela (Andalusia) during the Islamic Golden Age, Ibn Ezra later migrated northward into Christian Europe, where he lived in Italy, France and England—communities where Hebrew was neither the majority language nor the primary language of Jewish culture.

Yet Ibn Ezra brought with him a sophisticated tradition of Hebrew poetry, biblical interpretation and philosophical thought. His Hebrew poetry, composed in Christian Europe, navigated between Andalusian Hebrew literary conventions and the intellectual needs of his northern audiences.

Why Ibn Ezra's Poetry Matters

Koller's research on Ibn Ezra illuminates several interconnected questions:

• How does a literary tradition travel across geographical and cultural boundaries?
• What happens to Hebrew poetry when a master poet moves from an Islamic context to a Christian one?
• How do networks of Hebrew-literate scholars maintain cultural transmission across distance?
• What can Ibn Ezra's poetry tell us about medieval European Jewish intellectual life?

By examining Ibn Ezra across Italy, France and England, Koller is essentially mapping medieval Hebrew intellectual networks and asking how a literary tradition maintains integrity while adapting to new contexts.

Continuing Projects

Koller continues his research on the history of the alphabet and the relationship between script and linguistic meaning. He also serves on the Editorial Board of the European Hebrew Journal, reflecting his commitment to advancing rigorous, open-access scholarship in Hebrew studies.

The Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature recognizes that the study of Hebrew requires exactly the kind of scholarly breadth that Koller represents—spanning ancient languages, medieval interpretation, modern critical philology and the digital humanities.