Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (; 7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a Danish historian specializing in

Assyriology Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing. The fie ...

and

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ian literature. He was one of the foremost scholars on the

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...

Biography

Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen received, in 1927, an M.A. from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and then came to the United States to study at the Oriental Institute of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where, in 1929, he received his Ph.D. He was a field Assyriologist for the Iraq Expedition of the Oriental Institute from 1929 to 1937) and in 1946 became director of the Oriental Institute. He served as Dean of the Humanities Division from 1948 to 1951, as an editor of the ''Assyrian Dictionary'' from 1955 to 1959, and as Professor of Social Institutions from 1946–1962. In 1962, Jacobsen became a professor of Assyriology at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1974. Beyond being an expert translator, he was a brilliant interpreter whose insights led to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the institutions and normative references of Sumerian and Akkadian culture. Jacobsen retired as a professor of Assyriology at Harvard University in 1974. In 1974 he served as a visiting professor at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

where he helped develop a strong Assyriology program. Jacobsen served 1993 as president of 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 ...

, an organization of scholars. He was also an elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. He was 88 years of age when he died in

Bradford, New Hampshire Bradford is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,662 at the 2020 census. The main village of the town, where 372 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Bradford census-designated place (CDP ...

Selected works

*''

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient Composition (language), literary composition written in Sumerian language, Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims ...

'' (1939) *''The Temple Oval at Khafajah'' - chapter by Thorkild Jacobsen (1940) * ''The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man: An Essay of Speculative Thought in the Ancient Near East ''(1946; 1977) with Henri & Henriette Frankfort, John Wilson, William Irwin *''Towards the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture ''- edited by William L. Moran (1970) *''The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion'' (1976) *''The Harps that Once... Sumerian Poetry in Translation'' (1987)

Partial list of excavations

Eshnunna Eshnunna (also Esnunak) (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Althou ...

Khafajah Khafajah or Khafaje (), ancient Tutub, is an archaeological site in Diyala Governorate, Iraq east of Baghdad. Khafajah lies on the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris. Occupied from the Uruk period, Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods through the e ...

* Tell Agrab * Tell Ishchali *

Lagash Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Lagaš'') was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...

Awards

*Jacobsen was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in Near Eastern Studies in 1968.''Thorkild Jacobsen. 1968, Near Eastern Studies'' (John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation)

References

Sources

In Memoriam by J. A. Brinkman. The Oriental Institute

External links

Bio at the CDLI wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Thorkild 1904 births 1993 deaths Danish academics University of Chicago alumni Harvard University faculty Danish Assyriologists Danish emigrants to the United States University of Chicago faculty Members of the American Philosophical Society