Father Jean-Vincent Scheil (born 10 June 1858,

Kœnigsmacker Kœnigsmacker (; Lorraine Franconian: ''Maacher''/''Kinneksmaacher''; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Kœnigsmacker was the birthplace of Father Jean-Vincent Scheil (1858–1940), a French Domin ...

– died 21 September 1940, Paris) was a French Dominican scholar and

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

. He is credited as the discoverer of the

Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed during 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian language, Akkadi ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 1911 he came into possession of the Scheil dynastic tablet and first translated it. After being ordained in 1887, he took courses in

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

and

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 ...

at the '' École des Hautes Études'', and was a student at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

, where he was a pupil of

Julius Oppert. In 1890/91 as a member of the French Archaeological Mission of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, he took part in excavations at Thebes.Institut national d'histoire de l'art
biography In 1892 he conducted excavations near

Baghdad 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 ...

for the Ottoman Imperial Museum, followed by work in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he was tasked with classifying and drafting a catalog of Assyrian,

Chaldea Chaldea () refers to a region probably located in the marshy land of southern Mesopotamia. It is mentioned, with varying meaning, in Neo-Assyrian cuneiform, the Hebrew Bible, and in classical Greek texts. The Hebrew Bible uses the term (''Ka� ...

n and Egyptian antiquities of the museum.Encyclopaedia Iranica
biography In 1895 he became a lecturer at the ''École Pratique des Hautes Études'', where in 1908 he was named its director. In 1908 he also became a member of the ''

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

''. In 1923 he became an officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. In 1901 he discovered Hammurabi's Law Code at

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

, of which, he subsequently translated and published the 250 articles of the stele containing approximately 3600 lines;The Technology of Mesopotamia by Graham Faiella
Hammurabi's Legal Code ''La loi de Hammourabi (vers 2000 av. J.-C.)'', (1904).

Selected works

''Les inscriptions de Salmanasar II : roi d'Assyrie (860-824)'', 1890 (with Arthur Amiaud) Inscriptions of Shalmaneser, King of Assyria. * ''Une saison de fouilles à Sippar'', 1902 – A season of excavations at

Sippar Sippar (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , Zimbir) (also Sippir or Sippara) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its ''Tell (archaeology), tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell ...

. * ''La loi de Hammourabi (vers 2000 av. J.-C.)'', 1904 – The law of

Hammurabi Hammurabi (; ; ), also spelled Hammurapi, was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered the ci ...

, circa 2000 BC. * ''Annales de Tukulti Ninip II, roi d'Assyrie 889-884'', 1909 (with Joseph Étienne Gautier) – Annals of Tukulti Ninip II. * ''Le prisme S d'Assaraddon, roi d'Assyrie 681-668'', 1914 – The prism of

Esarhaddon Esarhaddon, also spelled Essarhaddon, Assarhaddon and Ashurhaddon (, also , meaning " Ashur has given me a brother"; Biblical Hebrew: ''ʾĒsar-Ḥaddōn'') was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 681 to 669 BC. The third king of the S ...

. * ''Recueil de lois assyriennes : texte assyrien en transcription avec traduction française et index'', 1921 – Collection of Assyrian laws. * ''Inscriptions des Achéménides à Suse'', 1929 – Inscription of the

Achaemenids The Achaemenid dynasty ( ; ; ; ) was a royal house that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, which eventually stretched from Egypt and Thrace in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Origins The history of the Achaemenid dy ...

at Sus
OCLC Classify
published works

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheil 1858 births 1940 deaths 19th-century French archaeologists 20th-century French archaeologists French Assyriologists French Egyptologists École pratique des hautes études alumni Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres French Dominicans People from Moselle (department) Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Sippar