André Miquel (26 September 1929 – 27 December 2022) was a French

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the ...

and historian, specialist of

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

and

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Biography

André Miquel was born in

Mèze Mèze (; oc, Mesa; phn, Mansa) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Mézois''. Geography Situated on the étang de Thau, Mèze shares with Bouzigues its historic role as the oyster capital ...

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

which he joined in 1950, agrégé de grammaire and docteur ès lettres, from 1976 to 1997, he was holder of the Chair of classical Arabic language and literature at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...

, of which he was general administrator from 1991 to 1997, after being that of the

Bibliothèque nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

from 1984 to 1987. Miquel was known for his work on the geography of the Arab World and the ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

''. His interest in the Arab world dates back to a trip to the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

he won after winning the

concours général In France, the Concours Général is the most prestigious academic competition held every year between students of ''Première'' (11th grade) and ''Terminale'' (12th and final grade) in almost all subjects taught in both general, technological and ...

of geography in 1946, and his discovery of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

in the translation by Claude-Étienne Savary. In 2005, in collaboration with , he realised a new translation of the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' which was published in the

Bibliothèque de la Pléiade The ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'' (, "Pleiades Library") is a French editorial collection which was created in 1931 by Jacques Schiffrin, an independent young editor. Schiffrin wanted to provide the public with reference editions of the c ...

. This translation includes all 1205 poems based on the edition of Bulaq, named after the Egyptian city where the text was printed for the first time in 1835. Miquel died in Paris on 27 December 2022, at the age of 93.André Miquel, historien spécialiste de langue et de littérature arabes, est mort
''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

Honours and awards

Honours

* Grand Officier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. * Officier of the National Order of Merit. * Officier of the

Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician *Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP *Lieutenant General Francis Palmes Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP ( ...

. * Commander of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

Awards

* 1969 : Marie-Eugène/Simon-Henri-Martin Award of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

(France). * 2010 :

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation (previously Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation (2008-2014)) is a Saudi international literary award for the translation ...

(KSA). * 2010 : Golden Award at ''Doha Arab Cultural Capital'' Festival (Qatar). * 2019 : Mohammed bin Rashid Arabic Language Award (UAE).

Acknowledgement

* Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

. * Member of the

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The Academ ...

. * Member of the

Arab Academy of Damascus Arab Academy of Damascus ( ar, مجمع اللغة العربية بدمشق) is the oldest academy regulating the Arabic language, established in 1918 during the reign of Faisal I of Syria. It is based in al-Adiliyah Madrasa and is modeled on the ...

. * Member of the Tunisian foundation for translation, the establishment of texts and studies.

Selected publications

Principal works

*1968:
L’Islam et sa civilisation (VIIe-XXe siècle)
'éd.

Armand Colin Armand Colin is a French publishing house founded in 1870 by Auguste Armand Colin. It specializes in publishing works concerning human sciences, economics and education. Among its best-known publications are the "U" collection begun in 1968, a ...

, coll. "Destins du monde", Paris, work distinguished by the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. *1971: ''Le fils interrompu'' *1973: ''La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu'au milieu du 11 siècle'', vol. 1: ''Géographie et géographie humaine dans la littérature arabe des origines à 1050''. *1975: ''La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu'au milieu du 11e siècle'', vol.2: ''Géographie arabe et représentation du monde : la terre et l'étranger''. *1977: ''Langue et littérature arabes classiques'', éd. Collège de France. *1978: ''Vive la suranie'', éditions Flammarion. *1980: ''La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu'au milieu du 11e siècle'', vol.3: ''Le milieu naturel''. *1981: ''La Littérature arabe'',

Presses universitaires de France Presses universitaires de France (PUF, English: ''University Press of France''), founded in 1921 by Paul Angoulvent (1899–1976), is the largest French university publishing house. Recent company history The financial and legal structure ...

, "

Que sais-je ? "Que sais-je?" (QSJ) (; Literally: "What do I know?", ) is an editorial collection published by the Presses universitaires de France (PUF). The aim of the series is to provide the lay reader with an accessible introduction to a field of study w ...

". *1988: ''La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu'au milieu du 11e siècle'', vol.4: ''Les travaux et les jours'', Éditions de l'EHESS, coll. "Civilisations et sociétés". *1990: ''L'Orient d'une vie'', in collaboration with , éd. . *1991: ''Les Arabes, l'islam et l'Europe'', Paris, Flammarion, with and . *1992: ''L'Evénement : le Coran, sourate LVI'', éd. Odile Jacob. *1992: ''D'Arabie et d'Islam'', éd. Odile Jacob, with *1994: ''Du Golfe aux océans. L'Islam'', éd. Hermann, Paris. *1995: ''Les Arabes : du message à l'histoire'', éd. Fayard, Paris, 1995 with and

Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour (Arabic: محمد العزيز بن عاشور) is a Tunisian politician and historian born on 5 January 1951; he specializes in urban, social and cultural history of modern Tunisia and the Islamic civilization. He was ...

. *1996: ''Deux Histoires d'amour : De Majnûn à Tristan'', éd. Odile Jacob. *2007: ''Le vieil homme et le vent'', Pézenas, éd. Domens. *2010: ''Croire ou rêver'', éd. Bayard. *2016: ''Le temps se signe à quelques repères: Mémoire'', éd. Odile Jacob.

Translations

*1957:

Ibn al-Muqaffa' Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh Rūzbih ibn Dādūya ( ar, ابو محمد عبدالله روزبه ابن دادويه), born Rōzbih pūr-i Dādōē ( fa, روزبه پور دادویه), more commonly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ ( ar, ابن الم� ...

(ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muqaffaʿ), '' Le livre de Kalila et Dimna'', Paris, Klincksieck. *2005: ''Les Mille et une Nuits'',

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, "

", translated with Jamel Eddine Bencheikh.

References

External links

André Miquel's bibliography
on Univ-Provence
André Miquel
on

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" sta ...

André Miquel : ''Connaître son héritage arabe n'empêche pas d'être français''
on Le Point {{DEFAULTSORT:Miquel, Andre 1929 births 2022 deaths People from Hérault 20th-century French historians 21st-century French historians Scholars of medieval Islamic history French Arabists Arabic–French translators École Normale Supérieure alumni Collège de France faculty Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Members of Academia Europaea