• Born in Dresden in 1969
• 1991–98: Studied German Language and Literature and Latin Philology at the Universities of Halle-Wittenberg, Rome (La Sapienza), and Freiburg im Breisgau
  : First State Examination
• 1998–2003: Ph.D. at the University of Halle-Wittenberg (Topic: The Inscriptions of the Former Querfurt District)
• since , research associate at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Research Unit: German Inscriptions)

Monographs:

• The Inscriptions of the Former Querfurt District, collected and edited by Ilas Bartusch (Die Deutschen Inschriften 64), Wiesbaden 2006. (DI 64)
• The Inscriptions of the City of Baden-Baden and the District of Rastatt, collected and edited by Ilas Bartusch (Die Deutschen Inschriften 78), Wiesbaden 2009. (DI 78)
• The Inscriptions of the Freudenstadt District, based on the preliminary work on Alpirsbach Abbey compiled by Anneliese Seeliger-Zeiss, edited and revised by Jan Ilas Bartusch (Die Deutschen Inschriften 94), Wiesbaden 2016. (DI 94)

Essays:

• The Inscriptions Concerning Conrad von Einbeck in St. Moritz Church in Halle, in: Sachsen und Anhalt 21 (1998) 81–127.
• Querfurt Inscriptions: The Tombstone of Mayor Hans Schramm, in: Merseburg District Calendar (2002) 32–34.
• Conventions of Ancient Praise for Rulers in Early Modern Inscriptions, in: Traditions, Breaks, Upheavals. Inscriptions from the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period in Historical Context. Papers from the 11th International Conference on Epigraphy, May 9–12, 2007, in Greifswald, ed. by Christine Magin, Ulrich Schindel, and Christine Wulf, Wiesbaden 2008, 321–347.
• The Tombs of Margrave Eduard Fortunat of Baden-Baden in the Collegiate Church of Baden-Baden, in: Fruits from the Tree of Knowledge. 100 Years of Academy of Sciences and Humanities Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. A Festschrift by the Research Staff, ed. by Ditte Bandini and Ulrich Kronauer, Heidelberg 2009, 153–170.
• The Restoration of the Margrave of Baden’s Burial Chapel in the Collegiate Church of the City of Baden Following Its Destruction in 1689, in: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins 157 NF 118 (2009) 249–300.
• Sounds of Jubilation and Lamentations—The Functions of Medieval Bells as Reflected in Their Inscriptions, in: Yearbook of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities 2012) 121–123 (https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55656.33).
• What Bells, Tombs, and Buildings Tell Us: A Survey of Historical Inscriptions in the Freudenstadt District, in: Freudenstädter Heimatblätter 46 (2013) No. 2, n.p.
• Inscriptions as the Focus of Local History Research, in: Yearbook of the Freudenstadt District (2014), 40–47.
• The Freudenstadt Baptismal Font and the Bietenhausen Tympanum—Two Early Stone Carvings by the Alpirsbach Monastery Workshop, in: Journal of Hohenzollern History 51/52 (2015/16) 1–24.
• Familiar Things in a New Light: Suggestions for a Second Look at Historical Inscriptions in the Freudenstadt District, in: Freudenstädter Heimatblätter 48 (2017), No. 6, n.p.
• The tombstone of Abbot Alexius Karrenfurer of Alpirsbach [Cat. No. IX.12]; The epitaph of Abbot Alexius Karrenfurer of Alpirsbach [Cat. No. IX.13]; Epitaph of Abbot Balthasar Elenheinz of Alpirsbach [Cat. No. IX.14], in: Freedom – Truth – Gospel. The Reformation in Württemberg. Catalog accompanying the exhibition at the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg, Main State Archives Stuttgart, September 13, 2017, through January 19, 2018, edited by Peter Rückert in collaboration with Alma-Mara Brandenburg and Eva-Linda Müller, published by the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg, Main State Archives Stuttgart, in cooperation with the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg, Ostfildern 2017, 358–360.
• Who Was Abbot Alexius? The Name and Origins of an Alpirsbach Monastery Abbot, in: Yearbook of the Freudenstadt District (2018), 132–142.
• Epitaph for Pastor Johann Melsheimer, translated and annotated by Jan Ilas Bartusch, in: *Blätter für pfälzische Kirchengeschichte und religiöse Volkskunde* 85 (2018), 127f.
• Waßner, Manfred / Bartusch, Jan Ilas, “A Study of the Tombstones from 1635 at St. Mary’s Church,” in: Bissingen an der Teck: 1,250 Years of History, commissioned by the Municipality of Bissingen an der Teck and edited by Manfred Waßner, Bissingen an der Teck 2019, 114–117.
• The Inscribed Finds from the Archaeological Excavation in the Courtyard of Pforzheim City Hall (2012–2019), in: New Contributions to the History of Pforzheim 6 (2020), 85–177.
• The Burial Site of the Margraves of Baden at Lichtenthal Abbey (Baden-Baden) Following Its Restoration in 1829–32 – Form and Function of the Gothic Majuscule from the Stonemason’s Workshop of Johann Baptist Belzer in Weisenbach (Rastatt County), in: Inscriptions Between Reality and Fiction. On the Treatment of Past Forms and Ideas. Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Epigraphy, May 5–8, 2010, in Mainz, ed. by Rüdiger Fuchs and Michael Oberweis, Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag 2021, pp. 95–115 (urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-234974).
• The Genealogical Rhyme Poem in Valentin Salomon von Fulda’s *Wernau Chronicle* (1592). Reflections on the Question of Epigraphic Execution, in: *Literature and Epigraphy: Phenomena of Inscription in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period*. Edited by Laura Velte and Ludger Lieb (Philological Studies and Sources 285). Berlin 2022, pp. 313–374 (https://doi.org/10.37307/b.978-3-503-20906-4.18)
• Intentions and Content of Medieval and Early Modern Bell Inscriptions in the German-Speaking World, in: Archiv für Epigraphik 3 (2023), pp. 13–74 (urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-884706).
• The founder's tomb for Bishop Günther of Speyer. The Inscription and Its Dating, in: Matthias Untermann, The Church of the Cistercian Monastery of Maulbronn. The Eastern Sections, ed. by the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments at the Stuttgart Regional Council (Research and Reports on the Preservation of Architectural and Artistic Monuments in Baden-Württemberg 20), Esslingen 2024, Vol. 1, 235–238.
• The Tombs of Bishops Günther and Ulrich I of Speyer in the sanctuary of the monastery church. Observations and reflections on their sequence and former arrangement, in: ibid., vol. 1, 238–244.
• New Commemoration of the Founder. The Inscriptions, in: ibid., vol. 1, 323–325.
• The Inscriptions on and in the East Wing of the Maulbronn Monastery Church, in: ibid., vol. 2, 721–797.
• The Imperial Cycle in the Knights’ Hall of Köngen Castle. Its Redating Based on the Original Documents, in: Schwäbische Heimat. Magazine for History, Regional Culture, Nature Conservation, and Historic Preservation 75 (2024), No. 3, 63–71 (https://doi.org/10.53458/sh.v75i3).
• B S. “Two Ornamental Initials on a Swabian Church Building: On the Influence of Gothic Script Traditions on Stone Carving in Oberlenningen (Esslingen District),” in: *Archiv für Epigraphik* 4 (2024) 17–24 (urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-938491).
• Diepold’s Enigmatic Tomb Inscription, in: Archiv für Epigraphik 5,2 (2025) 29–42 (https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-1011536).
• Epitaph for Michael Reinlin, Canon of Strasbourg, in: Heike Kronenwett / Walter Metzler / Katja Mikolajczak, 2000 Years in 50 Objects. Baden-Baden City Museum. A Selective Catalog, ed. by the Baden-Baden City Museum and Archives, Regensburg 2026, 42f.
• The Donor as a Novice? Observations on the Interpretation and Dating of the Alpirsbach Tympanum, in: Alpirsbach Monastery. New Research on the History and Art History of the Black Forest Monastery, ed. by the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg, Klaus Gereon Beuckers and Vivien Bienert, with the collaboration of Lisa Sophie Nowroth (State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg), Petersberg 2026, 242–255.

Presentations:

• The Inscriptions of the Parish Church in Esperstedt (Local Heritage Day in the Merseburg-Querfurt District, April 1999, Obhausen).
• The Inscriptions of St. Peter's Church in Heidelberg (Training Course for Tour Guides, March 2006, organized by the Protestant Parish Office of St. Peter's Church in Heidelberg).
• Findings from the Study of Inscriptions in the Former Querfurt District (Presentation given on the occasion of the public book launch for *The Inscriptions of the Former Querfurt District*, May 13, 2006, Querfurt Castle).
• Conventions of Ancient Hagiography in Early Modern Inscriptions (11th International Conference on Epigraphy, May 9–12, 2007, organized by the Inscriptions Department of Academy of Sciences and Humanities Göttingen at the Institute of History of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, Alfried Krupp Research College).
• (with Harald Drös), “Epigraphic Research: Inscriptions from the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period as Epigraphic Monuments and Historical Sources” (Lecture series by faculty members of Academy of Sciences and Humanities Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Conduct Research for You,” June 24, 2008, Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology, Heidelberg University).
• The Restoration of the Margrave of Baden’s Burial Chapel in the Collegiate Church of the City of Baden Following Its Destruction in 1689 (Lecture series of the Working Group for Regional History in the Upper Rhine Region, January 16, 2009, Karlsruhe, State Archives; see minutes of working session 483/2009).
• The burial site of the Margraves of Baden at Lichtenthal Abbey (Baden-Baden) following its restoration in 1828–32. Form and Function of Gothic Majuscules from the Stonemason’s Workshop of Johann Belzer in Weisenbach (Rastatt District) (12th International Symposium on Epigraphy, May 5–8, 2010, organized by the Research Center for German Inscriptions at the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Humanities the Literature).
• Sounds of Jubilation and Lamentation—The Functions of Medieval Bells as Reflected in Their Inscriptions (Lecture series by faculty members of Academy of Sciences and Humanities Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Research for You,” May 23, 2012, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities).
• Reading, Understanding, and Transcribing Late Medieval Inscriptions (Introductory Lecture on Medieval Epigraphy as part of the interdisciplinary summer courses “Inscription—Manuscript—Printing: Media of Written Culture in the Late Middle Ages,” Greifswald, September 21–27, 2014; June 19–23, 2023; and August 25–29, 2025, organized by the Inscriptions Research Center of Academy of Sciences and Humanities Göttingen at the Department of History of the Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald).
• Contemporaries from Days Gone By – Close-ups of Historical Inscriptions from the Freudenstadt District (Lecture given on the occasion of the public book presentation “The Inscriptions of the Freudenstadt District,” February 10, 2017, Stadthaus Freudenstadt).
• The Inscriptions of the Esslingen District—a project of the Research Center for German Inscriptions at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities lecture presented to the Esslingen Society for History and Antiquities, December 7, 2017, Esslingen City Museum).
• The Genealogical Rhyme Poem in Valentin Salomon von Fulda’s *Wernau Chronicle* (1592)—Reflections on the Question of Inscriptional Form (Conference “Real and Fictional Inscriptions in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period,” organized by SFB 933 “Material Text Cultures,” TP C05 “Inscriptionality: Reflections on Material Text Culture in Literature from the 12th to the 17th Century,” Prof. Dr. Ludger Lieb, Laura Velte, Dennis Disselhoff, October 5, 2020–October 7, 2020, Department of German Studies, Heidelberg University).
• The Pforzheim City Hall Courtyard as a Treasure Trove of City History—Approaches and Methods for Interpreting Fragmented Inscriptions (Lecture in the “Monday Evening at the Archives” series, organized by the Pforzheim City Archives and the Löbliche Singergesellschaft von 1501 Pforzheim, July 5, 2021, online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=P09o65__zyA).
• O Man, Take Heed—Do Not Swear in Vain! The Textual Sources for the Inscriptions on the Early Modern Oath Tablet at Filderstadt-Sielmingen (Text Transfer and Intertextual References in Medieval and Early Modern Inscriptions. 16th International Conference on Medieval and Early Modern Epigraphy, October 7–9, 2024, hosted by the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities Leipzig, October 8, 2024, Main Building, Leipzig).
• The tympanum above the west portal of the Alpirsbach monastery church. Evidence for dating based on epigraphic, iconographic, and stylistic findings (presentation on June 25, 2025, as part of the conference: Alpirsbach Monastery. In the Focus of Current Scholarship. Conference from June 23 to 25, 2025, in the church of Alpirsbach Abbey, organized by the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with the Institute of Art History at Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel).
• Hidden –Lost –Overlooked: New Research Findings on Early Modern Inscriptions in Nürtingen (Lecture on October 6, 2025, in the choir of the Nürtingen City Church, hosted by the Schwäbischer Heimatbund, Nürtingen Regional Group, in cooperation with the Evangelical Parish, the Adult Education Center, the City Museum, and the City Archives of Nürtingen).
• The inscription on the small bell of the Collm church bell ensemble (lecture given at the Collm Bell Festival on June 6, 2026, organized by the Collm Church Association).