Carl Eduard Sachau (20 July 1845 – 17 September 1930) was a German orientalist. He taught

Josef Horovitz Josef Horovitz (26 July 1874 – 5 February 1931) was a Jewish German orientalist. A son of Markus Horovitz (1844–1910), an Orthodox rabbi, Josef Horovitz studied with Eduard Sachau at the University of Berlin and was there since 1902 as a d ...

and Eugen Mittwoch.

Biography

He studied oriental languages at the Universities of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, obtaining his PhD at Halle in 1867. Sachau became a professor extraordinary of Semitic

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

(1869) and a full professor (1872) at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, and in 1876, a professor at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, where he was appointed director of the new Seminar of Oriental languages (1887). Sachau travelled to the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

on several occasions (see his book ''Reise in Syrien und Mesopotamien'', published 1883) and became known for his work on Syriac and other

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

dialects. He was an expert on polymath

Al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

and wrote a translation of ''Kitab ta'rikh al-Hind'', Al-Biruni's encyclopedic work on

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Sachau also wrote papers on

Ibadi Islam Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 60 ...

. While a student at Kiel, he became part of the fraternity ''Teutonia Kiel'' (1864). He was a member of the

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

, and an honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society in

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 the

American Oriental Society The American Oriental Society is a learned society that encourages basic research in the languages and literatures of the Near East and Asia. It was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned ...

. He worked as a consultant in the planning and construction of the

Baghdad Railway Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Among his better known students was Eugen Mittwoch, a founder of modern Islamic studies in Germany. He received the honorary degree

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(D.Litt.) from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in October 1902, in connection with the tercentenary of 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 ...

Bibliography

* ''Inedita Syriaca. Eine Sammlung syrischer Übersetzungen von Schriften griechischer Profanliteratur'', 1870 – A collection of Syriac translations of writings from Greek secular literature. * ''Chronologie orientalischer Völker'', 1878, English translation. ''Chronology of Ancient Nations'', 1879 – Translation of Abū l-Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī's ''al-Āthār al-bāqiya ʿan al-qurūn al-ḫāliya'' (''Vestiges of the Past'', 1000). * ''Reise in Syrien und Mesopotamien'', Leipzig, F.A. Brockhaus, 1883 – Journey to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. * ''Muhammedanisches Recht nach schafiitischer Lehre'', Stuttgart, Berlin, W. Spemann, 1897 – Islamic law according to

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

doctrine. German translation and explanation of Mukhtasar Abī Shujāʿ according to Ibrāhīm al-Bājūrī with the original Arabic text. * ''Am Euphrat und Tigris : Reisenotizen aus dem Winter 1897-1898'', Leipzig : J.C. Hinrichs, 1900 – The

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

and

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

, travelogue in the winter of 1897–1898. * "Three Aramaic Papyri from Elephantine, Egypt" in ''Smithsonian Institution Annual Report'' (1907): 605–11. Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften for the year 1907.">Prussian Academy of Sciences">Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften for the year 1907.* ''Alberuni's India. An account of the religion, philosophy, literature, geography, chronology, astronomy, customs, laws and astrology of India about A.D. 1030'', (published in English) London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1910. * ''Die Chronik von Arbela, ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis des ältesten Christentums im Orient'', Berlin, Verlag der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, in Kommission bei Georg Reimer, 1915 – The chronicle of

Arbela Arbela may refer to: Places * Greco-Roman name of the city of Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq * Arbel, Israel * Irbid, Jordan * Arbela, Ohio, United States * Arbela Township, Michigan, United States * Arbela, Missouri, United States Other uses ...

, a contribution to the knowledge of the oldest Christianity in the Orient. * ''Arabische Erzählungen aus der Zeit der Kalifen'', München: Hyperionverlag, 1920 – Arabic tales from the time of the Caliphs.WorldCat Identities
Most widely held works by Eduard Sachau

Papers related to Ibadism

* Sachau, Eduard: (1894) Muhammedanisches Erbrecht nach der Lehre der ibaditischen Araber von Zanzibar und Ostafrika. ''Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der'' ''Wissenschaften zu Berlin'', VIII (1894), 159–210. * Sachau, Eduard: (1898a) aḥyà ibn Khalfān al-KharūṣiDas Gutachten eines muhammedanischen Juristen über die muhammedanischen Rechtsverhältnisse in Ost-Afrika. ''Mitteilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen an der königlichen Friedrich Wilhelms-'' ''Universität zu Berlin'', Jahrgang I (1898), Abt. III, 1–8. * Sachau, Eduard: (1898b) Über eine arabische Chronik aus Zanzibar. ''Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen an der königlichen Friedrich Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin'', ''Westasiatische Studien'' (Berlin), I. Band, Abtheilung 2 (1898), 1-19. * Sachau, Eduard: (1899) Über die religiösen Anschauungen der ibadhitischen Muhammedaner in Oman und Ostafrika. ''Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen an der'' ''königlichen Friedrich Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin'', ''Westasiatische Studien'' (Berlin), Band II, 2. Abtheilung (1899) 47–82.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sachau, Eduard Syriacists German orientalists German philologists 1845 births 1930 deaths Academic staff of the University of Vienna People from Neumünster Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin University of Kiel alumni Leipzig University alumni German male non-fiction writers Ibadi studies Corresponding fellows of the British Academy