Harvey Prize (United States, Contribution to the deeper understanding of two important aspects of Semitic culture, namely the Aramaic language and Arabic literature; of his work on Aramaic and its offshoots to the organization of a comprehensive handbook of Aramaic dialects., 1984)
Rosenthal was born in Berlin, Germany into a Jewish family, on August 31, 1914, and was the second son of Kurt W. Rosenthal, a flour merchant, and Elsa Rosenthal (née Kirschstein).[1] He entered the University of Berlin in 1932, where he studied classics and oriental languages and civilizations. His teachers were Carl Becker (1876–1933), Richard Walzer (1900–75), and Hans Heinrich Schaeder (1896–1957). He received his Ph.D. in 1935 with a dissertation, supervised by Schaeder, on Palmyrenian inscriptions (Die Sprache der Palmyränischen Inschriften).
After teaching for a year in Florence, Italy, he became instructor at the Lehranstalt (formerly Hochschule) für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, a rabbinical seminary in Berlin. In 1938, he completed his history of Aramaic studies, which was awarded the Lidzbarski Medal and Prize from the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft. The prize money was withheld from him because he was Jewish, yet on Schaeder's initiative, he was given a prize medal in gold to compensate him for the loss.
Shortly after the infamous Kristallnacht, Rosenthal left Germany in December 1938 and went to Sweden, where he was invited through the offices of the Swedish historian of religions H.S. Nyberg (1889–1974). From there he went to England, where he arrived in April 1939, and eventually came to the United States in 1940, having received an invitation to join the faculty of the Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. He became a US citizen in 1943 and during the war worked on translations from Arabic for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, D.C. Following the war, he returned to academia, first at HUC and then in 1948 moved to the University of Pennsylvania. In 1956, he was appointed the Louis M. Rabinowitz Professor of Semitic Languages at Yale. He became a Sterling Professor in 1967 and emeritus in 1985.
Professor Rosenthal was a prolific and highly accomplished scholar who contributed much to the development of source-critical studies in Arabic in the US. His publications range from a monograph on Humor in Early Islam to a three-volume annotated translation of the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun to a Grammar of Biblical Aramaic. For his translation of the Muqaddimah, he traveled to Istanbul and studied the manuscript there, among them Ibn Khaldun's autographed copy. His 1952 History of Muslim Historiography was the first study of this enormous subject. He wrote extensively on Islamic civilization, including The Muslim Concept of Freedom, The Classical Heritage in Islam, The Herb: Hashish versus Medieval Muslim Society, Gambling in Islam, On Suicide in Islam and Sweeter Than Hope: Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam, Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam (Leiden: EJ. Brill, 1970), as well as three volumes of collected essays and two volumes of translations from the Arabic text of the history of the medieval Persian historian al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings). Rosenthal continued to publish in German and in English. His books have been translated into Arabic, Russian, and Turkish.[2]
Selected works
Humor in Early Islam, 1956
The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, 3 volumes, 1958 – first complete translation in English of "Muqaddimah" by 14th-century Islamic scholar/statesman, Ibn Khaldun
The Muslim Concept of Freedom Prior to the Nineteenth Century, 1960
A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, 1961
An Aramaic Handbook, 1967
Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam 1970 (reprinted 2007 with preface by Dimitri Gutas)
"Sweeter Than Hope": Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam, 1983
General Introduction, And, From the Creation to the Flood, translation of History of Tabari, 1985
The Classical Heritage in Islam, 1994
Man versus Society in Medieval Islam. Brill, Leiden & Boston, 2015. ISBN978-90-04-27088-6 (print); ISBN978-90-04-27089-3 (eBook) – covering the monographs and articles on the tensions and conflicts between individuals and society as the focus of his study of Muslim social history
^"In Memoriam: Franz Rosenthal, 87". 15 April 2003.
^"APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
^"Franz Rosenthal". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
Neue Deutsche Biographie, vol. 22, edited by Historische Kommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2005), 82–83.
franz, rosenthal, august, 1914, april, 2003, louis, rabinowitz, professor, semitic, languages, yale, from, 1956, 1967, sterling, professor, emeritus, arabic, scholar, arabic, literature, islam, yale, from, 1967, 1985, born31, august, 1914, berlin, died8, april. Franz Rosenthal August 31 1914 April 8 2003 was the Louis M Rabinowitz professor of Semitic languages at Yale from 1956 to 1967 and Sterling Professor Emeritus of Arabic scholar of Arabic literature and Islam at Yale from 1967 to 1985 Franz RosenthalBorn31 August 1914 Berlin Died8 April 2003 aged 88 Branford Alma materHumboldt University of Berlin OccupationArabist semitologist Islamicist EmployerHebrew Union College Jewish Institute of ReligionUniversity of PennsylvaniaYale University AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship 1946 Harvey Prize United States Contribution to the deeper understanding of two important aspects of Semitic culture namely the Aramaic language and Arabic literature of his work on Aramaic and its offshoots to the organization of a comprehensive handbook of Aramaic dialects 1984 Sterling Professor Contents 1 Background 2 Selected works 3 Awards and honors 4 References 5 External linksBackground EditRosenthal was born in Berlin Germany into a Jewish family on August 31 1914 and was the second son of Kurt W Rosenthal a flour merchant and Elsa Rosenthal nee Kirschstein 1 He entered the University of Berlin in 1932 where he studied classics and oriental languages and civilizations His teachers were Carl Becker 1876 1933 Richard Walzer 1900 75 and Hans Heinrich Schaeder 1896 1957 He received his Ph D in 1935 with a dissertation supervised by Schaeder on Palmyrenian inscriptions Die Sprache der Palmyranischen Inschriften After teaching for a year in Florence Italy he became instructor at the Lehranstalt formerly Hochschule fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums a rabbinical seminary in Berlin In 1938 he completed his history of Aramaic studies which was awarded the Lidzbarski Medal and Prize from the Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft The prize money was withheld from him because he was Jewish yet on Schaeder s initiative he was given a prize medal in gold to compensate him for the loss Shortly after the infamous Kristallnacht Rosenthal left Germany in December 1938 and went to Sweden where he was invited through the offices of the Swedish historian of religions H S Nyberg 1889 1974 From there he went to England where he arrived in April 1939 and eventually came to the United States in 1940 having received an invitation to join the faculty of the Hebrew Union College HUC in Cincinnati Ohio He became a US citizen in 1943 and during the war worked on translations from Arabic for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington D C Following the war he returned to academia first at HUC and then in 1948 moved to the University of Pennsylvania In 1956 he was appointed the Louis M Rabinowitz Professor of Semitic Languages at Yale He became a Sterling Professor in 1967 and emeritus in 1985 Professor Rosenthal was a prolific and highly accomplished scholar who contributed much to the development of source critical studies in Arabic in the US His publications range from a monograph on Humor in Early Islam to a three volume annotated translation of the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun to a Grammar of Biblical Aramaic For his translation of the Muqaddimah he traveled to Istanbul and studied the manuscript there among them Ibn Khaldun s autographed copy His 1952 History of Muslim Historiography was the first study of this enormous subject He wrote extensively on Islamic civilization including The Muslim Concept of Freedom The Classical Heritage in Islam The Herb Hashish versus Medieval Muslim Society Gambling in Islam On Suicide in Islam and Sweeter Than Hope Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam Knowledge Triumphant The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam Leiden EJ Brill 1970 as well as three volumes of collected essays and two volumes of translations from the Arabic text of the history of the medieval Persian historian al Tabari Tarikh al Rusul wa al Muluk History of the Prophets and Kings Rosenthal continued to publish in German and in English His books have been translated into Arabic Russian and Turkish 2 Selected works EditHumor in Early Islam 1956 The Muqaddimah An Introduction to History 3 volumes 1958 first complete translation in English of Muqaddimah by 14th century Islamic scholar statesman Ibn Khaldun The Muslim Concept of Freedom Prior to the Nineteenth Century 1960 A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic 1961 An Aramaic Handbook 1967 Knowledge Triumphant The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam 1970 reprinted 2007 with preface by Dimitri Gutas Sweeter Than Hope Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam 1983 General Introduction And From the Creation to the Flood translation of History of Tabari 1985 The Classical Heritage in Islam 1994 Man versus Society in Medieval Islam Brill Leiden amp Boston 2015 ISBN 978 90 04 27088 6 print ISBN 978 90 04 27089 3 eBook covering the monographs and articles on the tensions and conflicts between individuals and society as the focus of his study of Muslim social historyAwards and honors EditHe served as president of the American Oriental Society and was elected to both the American Philosophical Society 1961 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1971 3 4 References Edit In Memoriam Franz Rosenthal 87 In Memoriam Franz Rosenthal 87 15 April 2003 APS Member History search amphilsoc org Retrieved 2022 11 22 Franz Rosenthal American Academy of Arts amp Sciences Retrieved 2022 11 22 This text is based on the necrologue in the Yale Bulletin amp Calendar Neue Deutsche Biographie vol 22 edited by Historische Kommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin Duncker amp Humblot 2005 82 83 External links Edit 1 Sweeter Than Hope By Franz Rosenthal 2 In Memoriam Franz Rosenthal 3 Franz Rosenthal 88 Interpreter and Scholar Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Franz Rosenthal amp oldid 1132028880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
