Johann Gustav Stickel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johann Gustav Stickel (born July 7, 1805 - died January 21, 1896) German orientalist.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Johann Gustav Stickel was born in Eisenach in 1805. He went to school in Buttelstedt and in Weimar. In his youth a giftedness for the Hebrew language was discovered. Since 1822 Johann Gustav Stickel studied rationalist Protestant theology of enlightenment which included at that time Oriental languages like Syriac and Arabic at the university of Jena. His teachers were Andreas Gottlieb Hoffmann (1796-1864), who is known for his Hebrew and Syriac studies, and Johann Traugott Leberecht Danz (1769-1851). Stickel's first publication in 1826 earned him a fame as someone who did exegesis with "precise grammatical-historical interpretation of the Hebrew text". He was much influenced by Johann Gottfried Herder. Stickel taught at the university from 1827 to 1896. In 1827 he presented his habilitation on the prophet Habakuk to the minister of state in Weimar responsible for the University, at that time Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Weimar was the capital of the Grand Dukedom of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
In the Winter eemester 1828-1829 Stickel had the opportunity to study at the school for Oriental studies in Paris, the École speciale des langues orientales vivantes, with the financial support of the Grand-Ducal house and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Stickel's most influential teacher in Paris was Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy, but he also studied Sanscrit with Antoine-Leonard de Chezy (1773-1832)and Chinese with Jean-Pierre Abel Remusat (1788-1832). Between 1827 and 1832 Stickel remained a frequent visitor in the house of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Weimar.
In 1830 he became adjunct professor (außerordentlicher Professor) at the Faculty of Theology. However this was a position with an uncertain future. Since his return from Paris, he tried to build up a reputation for himself as philological Orientalist. Most notable were his 'Sentences of the caliph 'Ali ibn Abi Talib', based on a manuscript in Weimar and published in 1834. In 1836 he was promoted to be regular honorary professor (ordentlicher Honorarprofessor) at the Faculty of Theology. However this position was still without expectancy of a secure position and first of all not the call to Oriental studies, what he wanted to achieve.
After getting a call for a chair in Göttingen for Oriental studies in 1838, he achieved a better outlook for his career in Weimar. However this call was only possible because his colleague Heinrich Ewald was relegated. He had protested against the open breach of the constitution by the King of Hanover. Compared with the Kingdom of Hanover the Grand Dukedom allowed a far more liberal political atmosphere for the academia. Stickel hesitated on moral polital reasons to follow the call.
In 1839 Meanwhile the Ministery of State responsible for the University decided to establish again Oriental studies within the Faculty of Philosophy, with two professorships. In 1839 Stickel changed to the Faculty of Philosophy as regular honorary professor (ordentlicher Honorarprofessor), allowing him to pursue his studies in Oriental philology. Hermann Brockhaus took over the second professorship for Oriental languages. Beside the Old Testament he taught Sanscrit and Persian. In 1840 Stickel succeeded in founding the Grandducal Oriental Coin Cabinet in Jena with the financial aid of the Grand Duke Carl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Later the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna became the main benefactor of the collection. She gave the money for the acquisition of several outstanding colelctions. The Grandducal Oriental Coin Cabinet became one of the leading institutions in this field during the 19th century. In 1843 he was appointed officially as director of the Oriental Coin Cabinet, a position which he held together with his professorship. In 1848 he finally got full professorship at the Faculty of Philosophy.
J.G.S. is still known for his pioneering studies on Islamic Numismatics, while he is almost forgotten for his contributions on Semitic philology and theology. During the nineteenth century his study on the prophet Job(1842) had much influence, while his study on Etruscan language (1858) was received with criticism. His works on numismatics were reprinted several times until today.
The black obelisk memorial stone on his grave, prominent on the cemetery of St. John in the west the Old city of Jena, is adorned with a bronze plaque bearing his image.
[edit] Selected Bibliography of J.G.S.
1832 In Jobi locum celeberrimum Cap. XIX, 25-27 de Goele Commentatio philologica-historico critica (...) pro summis in theologia honoribus rite adipiscendis publice defendet, Jena 1832. [Dedicated to A. I. Silvestre de Sacy]
1834 Sententiae Ali ben Abi Taleb, arabice et persice e cod. mspt. Vimariensi primus edidit atque in usum scholarum anotatt. maximam partem grammaticis nec non Glossariis instruxit, Jena.
1842 Das Buch Hiob rhythmisch gegliedert und übersetzt mit exegetischen und kritischen Bemerkungen, Leipzig (Weidmann'sche Buchhandlung) 1842.
1845 Handbuch zur Morgenländischen Münzkunde. Das grossherzogliche orientalische Münzcabinet zu Jena, erstes Heft, Omajjaden- und Abbasiden-münzen, Leipzig (F. A. Brockhaus).
1858 Das Etruskische durch Erklärung von Inschriften und Namen als Semitische Sprache erwiesen, Leipzig (Wilhelm Engelmann).
1866 Neuentdeckte kufische Bleisiegel und Verwandtes, in: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 20, pp. 1-42.
1870 Handbuch zur Orientalischen Münzkunde. Das Grossherzogliche orientalische Münzcabinet zu Jena. Zweites Heft, Älteste Muhammedanische Münzen bis zur Münzreform des Abdulmelik's, Leipzig (F.A. Brockhaus).
1886 Meine Berührungen mit Goethe, in: Goethe-Jahrbuch 7, pp. 231-240.
1975 Handbuch zur Morgenländischen Münzkunde, erstes und zweites Heft [Reprint of the editions of 1845 and 1870 in one volume), Leipzig (Zentralantiquariat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik).
Several articles and studies were reprinted in 2003 and 2004 in the series "Islamic Numismatics" by the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Sciences, Frankfurt.
[edit] References
Paul Holzhausen, Von Napoleon bis heute, ein Professorenleben. Mit Benützung einer Skizze von Geheimrat Professor Dr. Stickel, in: Deutsche Revue 20 (August 1895), pp. 233-239.
Karl Siegfried, Zur Erinnerung an D. Gustav Stickel, in: Protestantische Kirchenzeitung für das evangelische Deutschland Nr. 7 (19. 2. 1896), col. 148-152.
Heinrich Nützel, Johann Gustav Stickel, in: Numismatische Zeitschrift 27 (1896), pp. 213-220;
Norbert Nebes, Orientalistik im Aufbruch. Die Wissenschaft vom Orient in Jena zur Goethezeit, in: Jochen Golz (ed.): Goethes Morgenlandfahrten. West-östliche Begegnungen, Frankfurt a/M-Leipzig 1996, pp. 66-96.
Stefan Heidemann, Orientalistik und orientalische Numismatik in Jena, in: Stefan Heidemann (ed.): Islamische Numismatik in Deutschland - eine Bestandsaufnahme (Jenaer Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient 2), Wiesbaden 2000, pp. 107-128.
Stefan Heidemann, Maria Pawlowna und der Umbruch in der Orientalistik - Die Gründung des Großherzoglichen Orientalischen Münzkabinetts, in: Joachim Berger - Joachim von Puttkamer (ed.): Von Petersburg nach Weimar. Kulturelle Transfers 1800 bis 1860, 2006, pp. 221-259.
