A.F.L. Beeston
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Alfred Felix Landon Beeston, FBA (23 February 1911 – 29 September 1995) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
Orientalist best known for his studies of
Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
and literature, and of ancient
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
i inscriptions, as well as the history of pre-Islamic Arabia. His works were generally published under the name A. F. L. Beeston. Beeston was born at
Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...
in southwest
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, and educated at
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
where he was a King's Scholar. At age 14 he grew fascinated with
South Arabia South Arabia () is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jizan, Al-Bahah, and 'Asi ...
n inscriptions at the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, which he attempted to decipher by means of an appendix in
James Theodore Bent James Theodore Bent (30 March 1852 – 5 May 1897) was an English explorer, archaeologist, and author. Biography James Theodore Bent was born in Liverpool on 30 March 1852, the son of James (1807-1876) and Eleanor (née Lambert, c.1811-1873) ...
's ''Sacred City of the Ethiopians'', asking for a
Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
and Arabic dictionary as school prizes. In 1929 he entered
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, already determined to become a librarian in oriental studies; in 1933 he got a first in Arabic and Persian. In 1935, during the course of his D.Phil. under
D. S. Margoliouth David Samuel Margoliouth, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (; 17 October 1858, in London – 22 March 1940, in London) was an English oriental studies, orientalist. He was briefly active as a priest in the Church of England. He was Laudian P ...
, on the subject of several Sabaic inscriptions, he accepted a post at the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
. He completed the thesis in 1937. He served in the Intelligence Corps between November 1940 and April 1946, stationed in
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. After his return to the Bodleian, he became Sub-Librarian and Keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts. In 1957 he was elected
Laudian Professor of Arabic The position of Laudian Professor of Arabic, now known as the Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Professor, at the University of Oxford was established in 1636 by William Laud, who at the time was Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Archbish ...
at Oxford, which chair he held until retirement in 1979. Beeston achieved renown as a Semitic
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
for his South Arabian studies, particularly ''A Descriptive Grammar of Epigraphic South Arabian'' (1962) and ''A Sabaic Grammar'' (1980). He has also made important contributions to the study of the Ancient South Arabian history. Other major works include his contribution to the catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindustani and Pushtu manuscripts in the Bodleian, his studies of the Arabic language, namely ''The Arabic Language Today'' (1970) and ''Written Arabic: An Approach to Basic Structures'' (1968), and editions and translations of classical texts including al-Baidawi's ''Commentary on Sura 12 of the Qur'an'' (1963) and ''The Singing Girls of al-Jahiz'' (1980). Despite this primary focus, however, his knowledge of languages ranged from Welsh and Hungarian to Chinese. In 1965 he was elected a fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
.


Selected works

In addition to scores of scholarly articles, Dr. Beeston produced the following major works. * ''Sabaean Inscriptions'', Oxford, VIII+152 pp. 1937. * ''Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindustani and Pushtu Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. Part III. Additional Persian Manuscripts'', Oxford University Press, 1955. * ''A Descriptive Grammar of Epigraphic South Arabian'', London : Luzac, VII+80 pp. 1962. * ''Baiḍawiʼs Commentary on Surah 12 of the Qurʾan: Text, Accompanied by an Interpretative Rendering and Notes'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963. * ''Written Arabic, an Approach to the Basic Structures'', Cambridge University Press, 1968. * ''The Arabic Language Today'', Coll. Modern Languages, London : Hutchinson, 1970. * ''The Epistle on Singing-Girls of Jahiú'', Warminster : Aris and Phillips, 1980. * ''Sabaic Dictionary (English-French-Arabic) /Dictionnaire sabéen (anglais-français-arabe) /al-Mu'gam as-saba'i (bi-al-ingliziyya wa-al-firansiyya wa al-'arabiyya)'', Publication of the University of Sanaa, YAR, Louvain-la-Neuve (Editions Peeters) et Beyrouth (Librairie du Liban), XLI+173+IVpp., in collaboration with M.A. Ghul, W.W. Müller et J. Ryckmans. 1982. * ''Mukhtarat min al-nuqush al-yamaniyyah al-qadimah, Tunis (al-Munazzamah al-'arabiyyah li-l-Tarbiya wa-l-thaqafa wa-al-'Ulum)'', 478 pp. and two maps, in collaboration with Muhammad Bafaqih, Christian Robin, and Mahmud al-Ghul. 1985 (in Arabic).


References


The Making of an Orientalist (autobiographic essay)






* A. K. Irvine, "Obituary: Professor Alfred Felix Landon Beeston 1911-1995", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 60, No. 1 (1997), pp. 117–123. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beeston, Alfred Felix Landon 1911 births 1995 deaths English librarians English orientalists English Arabists Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy People educated at Westminster School, London Laudian Professors of Arabic Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 20th-century English historians Yemen researchers