Barthold Georg Niebuhr
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Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
and a founding father of modern scholarly
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
. By 1810 Niebuhr was inspiring German patriotism in students at the
University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
by his analysis of Roman economy and government. Niebuhr was a leader of the
Romantic era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and symbol of German national spirit that emerged after the defeat at
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
. But he was also deeply rooted in the classical spirit of the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
in his intellectual presuppositions, his use of philologic analysis, and his emphasis on both general and particular phenomena in history.


Education

Niebuhr was born in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, the son of
Carsten Niebuhr Carsten Niebuhr, or Karsten Niebuhr (17 March 1733 Lüdingworth – 26 April 1815 Meldorf, Dithmarschen), was a German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark. He is renowned for his participation in the Royal Danish ...
, a prominent German geographer resident in that city. His father provided his early education. By 1794 the precocious young Niebuhr had already become an accomplished classical scholar who read several languages. That year he entered the
University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
, where he studied law and philosophy. There he formed an important friendship with Madame Hensler, the widowed daughter-in-law of one of the professors, six years older than himself. He also made the acquaintance of her sister, Amelie Behrens, whom he subsequently married. In 1796 he left Kiel to become private secretary to the Danish finance minister, Count Schimmelmann, but in 1798 he gave up this appointment and travelled in Great Britain, spending a year at
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
studying agriculture and physics. Of his stay in Great Britain, he said "my early residence in England gave me one important key to Roman history. It is necessary to know civil life by personal observation in order to understand such states as those of antiquity. I never could have understood a number of things in the history of Rome without having observed England." In 1799 he returned to Denmark, where he entered the state service; in 1800 he married Amalie Behrens (1773–1815) and settled at Copenhagen. In 1804 he became chief director of the national bank. After the death of his first wife, Niebuhr married (1816) Margarete Henslen (1787–1831), with whom he had one son, Marcus, and three daughters, Amalie, Lucia and Cornelia.


To Prussia

In September 1806, he quit the Denmark post for a similar appointment in
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
. He showed much business ability in his banking work, which he attributed to his life in England and Scotland. He arrived in Prussia on the eve of the catastrophe of Jena. He accompanied the fugitive government to
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
, where he rendered considerable service in the
commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some ar ...
, and was afterwards still more useful as commissioner of the national debt and by his opposition to ill-considered schemes of taxation. He was also for a short time Prussian minister in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where he endeavoured without success to fund a loan. The extreme sensitiveness of his temperament, however, disqualified him for politics; he proved impracticable in his relations with
Hardenberg Hardenberg (; nds-nl, Haddenbarreg or '' 'n Arnbarg'') is a city and municipality in the province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of Hardenberg has a population of about 60,000, with about 19,000 living in the city. It recei ...
and other ministers, and in 1810 retired for a time from public life, accepting the more congenial appointment of royal
historiographer Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
and professor at the
university of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. In 1809 he became a third class corresponding member, living abroad, of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands.


Academic and diplomatic career

He commenced his lectures with a course on the history of Rome, which formed the basis of his great work ''Römische Geschichte''. The first edition in two volumes, based upon his lectures, was published in 1811–1812, but attracted little attention at the time owing to the absorbing interest of political events. In 1813 Niebuhr's own attention was diverted from history by the uprising of the German people against Napoleon; he entered the
Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...
and ineffectually sought admission into the regular army. He edited for a short time a patriotic journal, the ''
Prussian Correspondent Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
'', joined the headquarters of the allied sovereigns, and witnessed the battle of Bautzen, and was subsequently employed in some minor negotiations. In 1815 he lost both his father and his wife. He next accepted (1816) the post of ambassador at Rome. Before his departure for Rome, he married his wife's niece. On his way to Rome, he discovered in the cathedral library of Verona the long-lost ''Institutes'' of Gaius, afterwards edited by Savigny, to whom he communicated the discovery under the impression that he had found a portion of
Ulpian Ulpian (; la, Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; c. 170223? 228?) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to ...
. The reason that Niebuhr visited Verona is a matter of controversy among scholars, with some alleging that he was on a "secret mission" to obtain the Gaius manuscript which others had previously found. The evidence points towards a fortunate coincidence. During his residence in Rome Niebuhr discovered and published fragments of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
and
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
, aided
Cardinal Mai Angelo Mai (''Latin'' Angelus Maius; 7 March 17828 September 1854) was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discove ...
in his edition of Cicero's ''
De re publica ''De re publica'' (''On the Commonwealth''; see below) is a dialogue on Roman politics by Cicero, written in six books between 54 and 51 BC. The work does not survive in a complete state, and large parts are missing. The surviving sections deriv ...
'', and shared in framing the plan of the great work ''Beschreibung Roms'' (“The Description of the City of Rome”) on the
topography of ancient Rome The topography of ancient Rome is the description of the built environment of the city of ancient Rome. It is a multidisciplinary field of study that draws on archaeology, epigraphy, cartography and philology. The word 'topography' here has its ...
by Christian Charles Josias Bunsen and
Ernst Zacharias Platner Ernst Zacharias Platner (1 October 1773, Leipzig - 14 October 1855, Rome) was a German painter, writer, and diplomat. Biography His father was the physician, Ernst Platner. He began studying art in Leipzig, with Adam Friedrich Oeser, then went ...
(1773–1855), to which he contributed several chapters. He also, on a journey home from
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, deciphered in a
palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid skin an ...
at the
Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...
the fragments of Flavius Merobaudes, a Roman poet of the 5th century. As minister, he brought about the understanding between Prussia and the Pope signalized by the bull ''De salute animarum'' in 1821. Niebuhr was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1822. In 1823 he resigned the position in Rome and established himself at
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
, where the remainder of his life was spent, with the exception of some visits to Berlin as councillor of state. He here rewrote and republished (1827–1828) the first two volumes of his ''Roman History'', and composed a third volume, bringing the narrative down to the end of the
First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
, which, with the help of a fragment written in 1831, was edited after his death (1832) by Johannes Classen. He also assisted in August Bekker's edition of the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
historians (the ''
Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae The ''Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae'' (CSHB; en, Corpus of Byzantine history writers, italic=yes), also referred to as the Bonn Corpus, is a monumental fifty-volume series of primary sources for the study of Byzantine history (–1453 ...
''), and delivered courses of lectures on ancient history,
ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
,
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
, and on the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. In February 1830, his house was burned down, but the greater part of his books and manuscripts were saved. France's revolution of July in the same year was a terrible blow to him, and filled him with the most dismal anticipations of the future of Europe. Niebuhr died, aged 54, in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
. After his death, in 1842, a medal was commissioned to honour his work.


Evaluation and opinion

Niebuhr's ''Roman History'' counts among epoch-making histories both as marking an era in the study of its special subject and for its momentous influence on the general conception of history.
Leonhard Schmitz Leonhard Schmitz FRSE (1807 – May 1890) was a Prussian-born classical scholar and educational author, mainly active in the United Kingdom. He is sometimes referred to in the Anglicised version of his name Leonard Schmitz. Biography Schmitz wa ...
said:
The main results arrived at by the inquiries of Niebuhr, such as his views of the ancient population of Rome, the origin of the
plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...
, the relation between the patricians and plebeians, the real nature of the
ager publicus The ''ager publicus'' (; "public land") is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired via the means of expropriation from enemies of Rome. History In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, th ...
, and many other points of interest, have been acknowledged by all his successors. Other alleged discoveries, such as the construction of early Roman history out of still earlier ballads, have not been equally fortunate; but if every positive conclusion of Niebuhr's had been refuted, his claim to be considered the first who dealt with the ancient history of Rome in a scientific spirit would remain unimpaired, and the new principles introduced by him into historical research would lose nothing of their importance. He suggested, though he did not elaborate, the theory of the myth, so potent an instrument for good and ill in modern historical
criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
. He brought in inference to supply the place of discredited tradition, and showed the possibility of writing history in the absence of original records. By his theory of the disputes between the patricians and plebeians arising from original differences of race he drew attention to the immense importance of ethnological distinctions, and contributed to the revival of these divergences as factors in modern history. More than all, perhaps, since his conception of ancient Roman story made laws and manners of more account than shadowy lawgivers, he undesignedly influenced history by popularizing that conception of it which lays stress on institutions, tendencies and social traits to the neglect of individuals.
More modern perspectives on Niebuhr's work recognise that some of his hypotheses "were extravagant and his conclusions mistaken", but that his contribution was more methodological, introducing a constructive and scientific method of sceptically and critically considering the difficulties – especially with poetic and mythical embellishments – with the ancient literary sources.


Works

The first edition of Niebuhr's ''Roman History'' was translated into English by F. A. Walter (1827), but was immediately superseded by the translation of the second edition by Julius Hare and
Connop Thirlwall Connop Thirlwall (11 January 1797 – 27 July 1875) was an English bishop (in Wales) and historian. Early life Thirlwall was born at Stepney, London, to Thomas and Susannah Thirlwall. His father was an Anglican priest who claimed descent from ...
, completed by William Smith and
Leonhard Schmitz Leonhard Schmitz FRSE (1807 – May 1890) was a Prussian-born classical scholar and educational author, mainly active in the United Kingdom. He is sometimes referred to in the Anglicised version of his name Leonard Schmitz. Biography Schmitz wa ...
(last edition, 1847–1851). He wrote ''Griechische Heroengeschichte'' (“History of Greek Heroes,” 1842; 11th ed. 1896), for his son Marcus; ''Geschichte des Zeitalters der Revolution'' (“History of the Age of Revolutions”, 1845); ''Kleine historische und philologische Schriften'' (Minor Historical and Philological Writings, 1828–43). His ''Lectures on Ancient History'' is familiar in English translation.


Notes


References

* * Bowersock, Glen W. "The vanishing paradigm of the fall of Rome." ''Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' 49.8 (1996): 29–43
online
* Bridenthal, Renate. "Was There a Roman Homer? Niebuhr's Thesis and Its Critics." ''History and Theory'' 11.2 (1972): 193–213
online
* Bunsen, Christian Charles Josias. ''The life and letters of Barthold George Niebuhr'' (1852
online edition
* Gooch, G. P. ''History and historians in the nineteenth century'' (1913) pp 14–2
online
* Iggers, Georg G. "The Intellectual Foundations of Nineteenth-Century 'Scientific' History: The German Model." in ''The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 4: 1800-1945'' (2011) 4:41+. * Reill, Peter Hanns. "Barthold Georg Niebuhr and the Enlightenment Tradition," ''German Studies Review,'' (1980) 3#1, pp 9–2
in JSTOR


Primary sources

* Niebuhr, Barthold Georg, et al. ''The Life and Letters of Barthold George Niebuhr.'' Harper & brothers, 1854
online
* Niebuhr, Barthold Georg, and Meyer Isler. ''Niebuhr's Lectures on Roman History. Vol. 3.'' Chatto and Windus, 1875. * Twiss, Travers, and Barthold Georg Niebuhr. ''An epitome of Niebuhr's History of Rome. vol 3'' 1837
online


Further reading

* Renate Bridenthal
"Was There a Roman Homer? Niebuhr's Thesis and Its Critics"
''History and Theory'', 11 (1972), pp. 193–213


External links


Barthold Georg Niebuhr's Works
Hathi Trust
Works of Barthold Georg Niebuhr
Internet Archive *
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

Review of Lieber's Reminiscences of Niebuhr, from Southern Literary Messenger, January 1836
* Lectures on the History of Rome from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire (2nd English edition, 1848
Volume OneVolume TwoVolume Three
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niebuhr, Barthold Georg 1776 births 1831 deaths Writers from Copenhagen German diplomats 19th-century German historians German classical scholars Ambassadors of Prussia Prussian politicians University of Bonn faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 19th-century diplomats German male non-fiction writers Historians of ancient Rome University of Kiel alumni Humboldt University of Berlin faculty