Johann Jacob Reiske
Johann Jacob Reiske (born December 25, 1716 in Zörbig ; † August 14, 1774 in Leipzig ) was a German Graecist , Arabist and Byzantinist . Although he was hardly recognized in his time, he is considered the founder of Arabic philology as an independent discipline.
Life
Reiske was the son of a tanner . He attended the town school in Zörbig (from 1722), took private lessons in Zöschen (from 1727), and attended the grammar school in Halle (1728–33). In 1733 he began to study theology in Leipzig and studied Arabic as an autodidact .
In 1738 he went to Leiden to study Arabic manuscripts on behalf of Albert Schultens . In Leiden he attended lectures by Tiberius Hemsterhuis , which aroused his interest in ancient Greek literature. Due to personal differences with the Leiden philologists, he was refused a doctorate, so he received his doctorate in 1746 on Arabic medicine (Miscellaneae aliquot observationes medicae ex Arabum monumentis) and was awarded a doctorate as Dr. med.
After his return to Leipzig in 1746, he did not want to practice the medical profession and turned to philological odd jobs. In 1748 he was appointed associate professor for Arabic in Leipzig, but his opposition to Johann August Ernesti and Johann David Michaelis hindered his professional advancement. In 1758 he became rector of the Leipzig Nikolaischule .
Reiske married Ernestine Christine Reiske (née Müller) in 1764 . On the occasion of a visit to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1771, he arranged the oriental manuscripts in the Herzog August Library .
plant
Reiske is regarded as the founder of Arabic philology and a pioneer of Arabic numismatics and epigraphy . He promoted Arabic philology from an auxiliary theological science to an independent discipline. Despite his efforts, he was hardly recognized throughout his life, in a biography he called himself a "martyr of Arabic literature". His text edition and translation of Abu 'l-Fida's history appeared posthumously. In addition, he worked on Arabic proverbs and translated Demosthenes . Reiske's edition and commentary on De ceremoniis (1751–54) is one of the most important source editions of Byzantine studies.
effect
Today Reiske is considered the most important German Arabist of the 18th century.
literature
- Richard Förster : Reiske, Johann Jacob . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 28, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, pp. 129-143.
- Hartmut Bobzin : Reiske, Johann Jacob. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 391 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Hans-Georg Ebert, Thoralf Hanstein (ed.): Johann Jacob Reiske - life and effect. A Leipzig Byzantinist and founder of oriental studies in the 18th century. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-374-02327-4 . The chapter: Stefan Heidemann: The Development of Methods in Islamic Numismatics in the 18th Century - Was Johann Jakob Reiske its founder? (Pp. 147–202) is online here ( PDF , 2.2 MB).
Web links
- Literature by and about Johann Jacob Reiske in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Johann Jacob Reiske in the German Digital Library
- Reiske, Johann Jacob . Publications in the bibliographic database of the Regesta Imperii .
Individual evidence
- ^ Karin Rührdanz : Oriental manuscripts in the Duchess Amalia Library. In: Jochen Golz (Ed.): Goethe's Morgenlandfahrten. West-Eastern encounters (exhibition by the Goethe and Schiller Archives Weimar in the Goethe year, from May 26 to July 18, 1999), Insel, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1999, ISBN 3-458-34300-8 , p. 97–111, here p. 97.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Reiske, Johann Jacob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Arabist, Graecist and Byzantinist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 25, 1716 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zörbig |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 14, 1774 |
| Place of death | Leipzig |