Ernst Christian Andreas Martin Fabricius (

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, 6 September 1857 –

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

, 22 March 1942) was a German historian, archaeologist and classical scholar. Between 1882 and 1888 he participated in excavations in Greece and Asia Minor and also pioneered German research on the Roman Empire border defenses known as the

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsub ...

Biography

Ernst Fabricius began his university studies in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. In 1881 he received a doctorate in 'Comprehensive Greek Architecture' from the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

. His teachers included

Adolf Michaelis Adolf Michaelis (22 June 1835 – 12 August 1910) was a German classical scholar, a professor of art history at the University of Strasbourg from 1872, who helped establish the connoisseurship of Ancient Greek sculpture and Roman sculpture on their ...

Rudolf Schöll Rudolf Schöll (1 September 1844 in Weimar – 10 June 1893 in Munich) was a German classical scholar. He specialized in the fields of Greek and Roman legal history, classical archaeology and Greek epigraphy.Heinrich Nissen Heinrich Nissen (born 3 April 1839 in Hadersleben; died 29 February 1912 in Bonn) was a German professor of ancient history. Life Heinrich Nissen studied in Kiel under Karl Wilhelm Nitzsch and in Berlin under August Boeckh and Theodor Mommsen. A ...

and

Hermann Usener Hermann Karl Usener (23 October 1834 – 21 October 1905) was a German scholar in the fields of philology and comparative religion. Life Hermann Usener was born at Weilburg and educated at its Gymnasium. From 1853 he studied at Heidelberg, ...

. As a fellow of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

, along with geographer

Heinrich Kiepert Heinrich Kiepert (July 31, 1818 – April 21, 1899) was a German geographer. Early life and education Kiepert was born in Berlin. He traveled frequently as a youth with his family and documented his travels by drawing. His family was friends wit ...

, he visited

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 ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. In 1886, he was appointed professor of classical philology, archeology and ancient history 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 ...

. Subsequently, he participated in excavations in Greece and Asia Minor, specifically at

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. From 1888 until his retirement (1926) he was professor of ancient history at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, and the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

. At the University of Freiburg, Fabricius was the dean of the college,

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

(1910–11), and Chairman of the Committee for the construction of the new universities. In 1902 he was appointed President of the

German Limes Commission German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

for the Committee on the Germanic-Rhaetian Limes. During his career, Fabricius was extensively involved in politics. He served in the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

(Badische Ständeversammlung) from 1913 to 1918. He was a supporter of both German colonialism and

Pangermanism Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the German-speaking people – and possibly also Germanic-speaking ...

. For many years he was a member of the People's League for Germans Abroad (Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland) becoming president of the association in 1920. Fabricius worked with

Federico Halbherr Federico Halbherr (Rovereto, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 15 February 1857 – Rome, 17 July 1930) was an Italian archaeologist and epigrapher, known for his excavations of Crete. A contemporary, good friend, and trusted advisor of Arthu ...

on the Italian archaeological mission to Crete, and was a major contributor in the excavation and study of the

Gortyn Code The Gortyn code (also called the Great Code) was a legal code that was the codification of the civil law of the ancient Greek city-state of Gortyn in southern Crete. History Our sole source of knowledge of the code is the fragmentary boustro ...

("Leggi di Gortina") on civil rights.

Publications

, Ernst Fabricius e

Domenico Comparetti Domenico Comparetti (27 June 183520 January 1927) was an Italian scholar. He was born at Rome and died at Florence. Life He studied at the University of Rome La Sapienza, took his degree in 1855 in natural science and mathematics, and entered his ...

, ''Leggi antiche della città di Gortyna in Creta''. Firenze (Torino, Roma) : Loescher, 1885 * ''Der Limes vom Rhein bis zur Lahn. Nach den Untersuchungen der Streckenkommissare'', Peters, Heidelberg 1915 * ''Über die Lex Mamilia Roscia Peducaea Alliena Fabia'', Winter, Heidelberg 1924 (Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, 1924/25, 1) * as co-editor: ''Der obergermanisch-raetische Limes des Roemerreiches. Im Auftrag der Reichs-Limeskommission'', Peters, Berlin-Leipzig, Heidelberg 1894–1938. – Reprint Greiner, Remshalden, 2005,

Bibliography

* Jürgen von Beckerath, Wilhelm Schleiermacher: ''Bibliographie Ernst Fabricius''. In: ''Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission'' 32, 1942, pp. 229–236.

External links

Breve autobiografia di Fabricius
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabricius 1857 births 1942 deaths German classical scholars 20th-century German historians Archaeologists from Hesse Writers from Darmstadt German male non-fiction writers Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities