Alfred Felix Landon Beeston, FBA (23 February 1911 – 29 September 1995) was an English Orientalist best known for his studies of

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and literature, and of ancient

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

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 in southwest

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

where he was a King's Scholar. At age 14 he grew fascinated with

South Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

n inscriptions at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, which he attempted to decipher by means of an appendix in James Theodore Bent's ''Sacred City of the Ethiopians'', asking for a

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and Arabic dictionary as school prizes. In 1929 he entered

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, 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, 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. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

. He completed the thesis in 1937. He served in the Intelligence Corps between November 1940 and April 1946, stationed in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. 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 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 strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

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 for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...

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 Jahiż'', 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