Aziz Suryal Atiya

Aziz Suryal Atiya
عزيز سوريال عطية
Born ( 1898-07-05)July 5, 1898
Zefta , Egypt
Died September 24, 1988 (1988-09-25) (aged 90)
USA
Nationality Egyptian
Fields

Coptology, Author of The Coptic Encyclopedia published in 1991

New York: Macmillan Publishing Company
Institutions

Founder of the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo in 1950s , founder of the Middle East Center,

University of Utah United States
Alma mater

University of Cairo, Alexandria University, University of Cambridge ,

University of Utah United States
Known for

Coptologist, Coptic historian

and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.
Influenced Labib Habachi,Sami Gabra
Notable awards

(Doctor of Letters) University of Liverpool 1938 , honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.),

Brigham Young University United States 1967

Aziz Suryal Atiya' (Arabic: عزيز سوريال عطية; July 5, 1898 September 24, 1988)[1] was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.

Atiya was the founder of the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo in 1950s, and was also the founder of the Middle East Center, University of Utah.[2]

His library, The Aziz Atiya Library for Middle East Studies at University of Utah, is considered the fifth largest such collection in North America and is recognized internationally as a major research library in this field.[3]

While at the University of Utah, Professor Atiya rediscovered ten lost papyri fragments related to the LDS scripture, Book of Abraham, in the archives of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Work

Atiya published a large study entitled The Crusades in the Later Middle Ages in 1938, and was also the first author of The Coptic Encyclopedia, published in 1991.

The chapters on the Copts in his book The History of Eastern Christianity (1968, 1980) have become landmarks, not only for specialists but also for the general public.[2]

It was Atiya who, after many lively debates with the publishers and their readers, had the words 'Coptology' and 'Coptologist' introduced into the English language.[4]

He could speak English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Latin, and to a lesser extent, Spanish, Greek, Coptic, Turkish, Welsh, and Dutch.

Academic career

Awards

Publications

See also

References

  1. Egypt Radio
  2. 1 2 Coptology Amazon
  3. Aziz Atiya Library Archived February 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. John H. Watson, Among the Copts
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