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Wolfram Theodor Hermann Freiherr von Soden (19 June 19086 October 1996) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
scholar of
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 ...
. He was active during the
Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Some of von Soden's published works have been interpreted as supporting the Nazi cultural and racial ideology.


Early life and education

Von Soden was born in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
on 19 June 1908. He studied ancient
Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...
under Benno Landsberger at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
, where he received his
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in 1931. His dissertation was titled ''Der hymnisch-epische Dialekt des Akkadischen'' (''The Hymnic-Epic Dialect of Akkadian''). In 1936, he was appointed as the Associate Professor of Assyriology and Arabic studies at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
after Benno Landsberger was forced to leave Germany due to the introduction of the
Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. The two laws were the Law ...
implemented by the Nazi regime, which stripped Jewish people of many civil rights, later including citizenship.


Career

Von Soden joined the
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...
in 1934 and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1937. From 1939 to 1945, he served in the German military, primarily as a translator. In 1940, he was unable to accept a professorship in Ancient Near Eastern studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University, due to being in the military. Following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, von Soden's Nazi Party membership initially hindered his academic career. However, with a recommendation from Benno Landsberger (by then at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago), von Soden was appointed to an academic position 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 ...
in 1954. In 1961, he accepted a professorship at
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, where he directed the Oriental Seminar until his retirement in 1976. After he died in 1996, his library was bequeathed to the newly revived Institute for Near Eastern Studies at the University of Leipzig, where he had earned his doctorate. He specialised in ancient
Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...
. As a member of the "History of Religions" (Religionsgeschichte) school at the University of Gottingen, he challenged the interpretation that
Babylonians Babylonia (; , ) was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as an Akkadian-populated but Amorite-ru ...
regarded their creator god,
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
, as a "dying and rising god." He suggested that texts supporting this view were polemical works created by the Assyrians to criticise the chief god of their rival state. Von Soden's significant philological works include the ''Akkadisches Handwörterbuch'' (AHW), developed with assistance from Rykle Borger, and the ''Grundriss Akkadischer Grammatik'' (GAG). These are considered essential reference works in Assyriology. His work on the AHW has been noted as providing a foundation for later philological projects such as the '' Chicago Assyrian Dictionary''.


Controversy

Von Soden's work has been alleged to support Nazi ideology. His early works, particularly ''Der Aufstieg des Assyrreiches als geschichtliches Problem'' (1937), have been interpreted by some as promoting "racist concepts of Aryan superiority" over Semitic culture. For example, in ''Leistung und Grenze sumerischer und babylonischer Wissenschaft'' (1936), the 1965 edition (page 122) concludes: "that science in the strict sense of the word could only take shape under the special conditions given by the Indo-European Greeks and Indians." The original 1936 edition (page 556) had concluded that "science in the strict sense of the word is something that could only be created by the
Indo-Europeans The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
determined by the Nordic race."Jakob Flygare, "Assyriology in Nazi Germany: the Case of Wolfram von Soden." In 'Perspectives on the History of Ancient Near Eastern Studies.' 2020, p. 44-60". His ''Einführung in die Altorientalistik'' (''The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East'', 1985) discusses the skin color of ancient Near Eastern inhabitants, mentioning "the presumably always light-skinned inhabitants of the Near East during the Copper Age" (p.14).


Death

Wolfram von Soden died on 6 October 1996 in
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, Germany.


Works (partial)

*''Das akkadische Syllabar'' (1948, rev. 1967, 1976, 1991, ) *''Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik'' (1952, ) *''Das Gilgamesch-Epos'' (1958, with Albert Schott; ) *''Akkadisches Handwörterbuch'' (1965–1981, 3 vols; ) *''Das akkadisch-hethitische Vokabular KBo I 44+KBo XIII 1'' (1968, with Heinrich Otten) *''Einführung in die Altorientalistik'' (1985; ); translated (by Donald G. Schley) into English as ''The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East.'' Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.


References

* Rykle Borger, "Wolfram von Soden". In: ''Archiv für Orientforschung'' 44/45, 1997/98, pp. 588–594. * Gary Beckman, "von Soden, Wolfram (1908–1996). In 'The Encyclopedia of Ancient History' 2018, pp.1. * Jakob Flygare, "Assyriology in Nazi Germany: the Case of Wolfram von Soden." In 'Perspectives on the History of Ancient Near Eastern Studies.' 2020, p. 44-60. {{DEFAULTSORT:Soden, Wolfram Von 1908 births 1996 deaths Linguists from Germany German Assyriologists Academic staff of the University of Münster Writers from Berlin German male non-fiction writers 20th-century German linguists Corresponding fellows of the British Academy