Heinrich Karl Brugsch (also ''Brugsch-Pasha'') (18 February 18279 September 1894) was a German
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
. He was associated with
Auguste Mariette in his excavations at
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. He became director of the School of
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
at
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, producing numerous very valuable works and pioneering the decipherment of
Demotic
Demotic may refer to:
* Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language
* Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language
* Chữ Nôm, the demotic script for writing Vietnamese
See also
*
* Demos (disa ...
, the simplified script of the later Egyptian periods.
Biography
Heinrich Karl Brugsch was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1827. He was the son of a
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 ...
n cavalry officer, and was born in the barracks at Berlin. He early manifested a great inclination to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian studies, in which he was almost entirely self-taught. At the age of 16, he applied himself with success to the decipherment of
Demotic
Demotic may refer to:
* Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language
* Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language
* Chữ Nôm, the demotic script for writing Vietnamese
See also
*
* Demos (disa ...
, which had been neglected since the death of
Champollion in 1832. Brugsch's work, ''Scriptura Ægyptiorum Demotica'' (Berlin, 1848), containing the results of his studies, appeared while he was a student at the
gymnasium. It was followed by his ''Numerorum Demoticorum Doctrina'' (1849), and his ''Sammlung demotischer Urkunden'' (1850).
His 1848 work brought him to the attention of
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
and Prussian King
Frederick William IV
Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...
. After completing his university course, support from the king enabled him to complete his studies with visits to foreign museums at
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, and
Leyden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
. In 1853, he was sent to Egypt by the Prussian government in 1853, and contracted an intimate friendship with Mariette, whom he assisted in his work. After this he returned to Berlin, where, in 1854, he was appointed
privatdocent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
in the
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, and, in 1855, assistant in the
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (german: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung) is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of t ...
. He visited Egypt again in 1857.
In 1860 he was sent to
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
on a special mission under
Baron Minutoli, travelled over the country, and after Minutoli's death discharged the functions of ambassador. In 1863, he founded the Egyptological journal, ''Zeitschrift für Aegyptische Sprache''. In 1864 he was consul at Cairo, in 1868 professor at
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
, and in 1870 director of the school of Egyptology, founded at Cairo by the
khedive
Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Kh ...
. He was soon raised to the rank of
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
(1873); from this post, he was unceremoniously dismissed in 1879 by the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an controllers of the public revenues, determined to economize at all hazards; and
French influence prevented his succeeding his friend Mariette at the
Bulaq Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...
in 1883. He had been made a
pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...
by the khedive in 1881.
He afterwards resided principally in Germany until his death in 1894, but frequently visited Egypt, took part in two more official missions to Persia in 1883 (with
Prince Frederick Charles
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
) and 1885. He organized an Egyptian exhibit at the
Philadelphia Exposition in 1876. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1869.
![Tombstone of the German Egyptologist Heinrich Brugsch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Tombstone_of_the_German_Egyptologist_Heinrich_Brugsch.jpg)
He published his autobiography in 1894, concluding with a warm
panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
upon
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
rule in Egypt. Brugsch's services to Egyptology are most important, particularly in the decipherment of
Demotic
Demotic may refer to:
* Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language
* Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language
* Chữ Nôm, the demotic script for writing Vietnamese
See also
*
* Demos (disa ...
and the making of a vast
Hieroglyphic
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...
-Demotic dictionary (1867–1882).
He was buried in Berlin-
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
. His tombstone is a reused lid of an Egyptian sarcophagus of the
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
.
Brugsch brought some biblical manuscripts from Sinai to Berlin (
Minuscule 257,
Minuscule 653
Minuscule 653 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 182 ( von Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1077. The manuscript has not complex contents.K. Aland, M. Welte, B. K ...
and
Minuscule 654).
The
Brugsch Papyrus
The Brugsch Papyrus (Pap. Berl. 3038), also known as the Greater Berlin Papyrus or simply Berlin Papyrus, Following Nunn, the Berlin Papyrus is "sometimes known as the Papyrus Brugsch" (p. 37). is an important ancient Egyptian medical papyrus. It ...
, also known as the Greater Berlin Papyrus, in the
Berlin Museum (Pap. Berl. 3038), an important ancient Egyptian medical papyrus, bears the name of Heinrich Karl Brugsch. It was studied originally by him.
Brugsch has been described in the context of the
Curse of the pharaohs
The curse of the pharaohs or the mummy's curse is a curse alleged to be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian, especially a pharaoh. This curse, which does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, is claime ...
, as was his brother, through his delusional belief he held the post of Lepsius at the University of Berlin whilst the latter was still alive and though he had never been offered the position.
[The Curse of the Mummy", Charlotte Booth, p.192]
He was the brother of Egyptologist
Émile Brugsch
Émile Brugsch (February 24, 1842 – January 14, 1930) was a German Egyptologist whose career spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known as the official who "evacuated" the mummies from the Deir el-Bahri Cache in 1881 without re ...
who was responsible for the poorly documented evacuation of the royal mummies at
Deir el-Bahari
Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri ( ar, الدير البحري, al-Dayr al-Baḥrī, the Monastery of the North) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of ...
.
Works
Among the most important of his works besides those mentioned are:
* ''Reiseberichte aus Ägypten'' (Travel Diary of Egypt) (1855)
* ''Grammaire démotique'' (Demotic Grammar) (Paris, 1855)
* ''Monuments de l'Egypte'' (Monuments of Egypt) (1857)
* ''Geographische Inschriften'' (Leipzig, 1857–60)
* ''Histoire d'Egypte'' (History of Egypt) (Leipzig, 1859)
* ''Recueil des monuments égyptiens'' (Anthology of Egyptian Monuments) (Leipzig, 1862–63)
* ''Reise der königlich Preussischer Gesandtschaft nach Persien'' (Journey of the Royal Prussian Embassy to Persia) (1862–63)
* ''Hieroglyphisch-demotisches Wörterbuch'' (Hieroglyphic-Demotic Dictionary) (Leipzig, 1867–82)
* ''Hieroglyphische Grammatik'' (Hieroglyphic Grammar) (Leipzig, 1872)
* ''L'Exode et les monuments égyptiens '' (The Exodus and the Egyptian Monuments) (Leipzig, 1875)
* ''Dictionnaire géographique de l' ancienne Egypte'' (Geographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt) (Leipzig, 1877–81)
* ''Geschichte Aegyptens'' (Leipzig, 1877; English trans. “History of Egypt from the Monuments”)
* ''Dictionnaire géographique de l'ancienne Egypte'' (Leipzig, 1877–81)
* ''Thesaurus Inscriptionum Ægyptiacarum'' (Thesaurus of Egyptian Inscriptions) (Leipzig, 1883–91)
* ''Religion und Mythologie der Aegypter'' (Religion and Mythology of the Egyptians) (Leipzig, 1887)
* ''Die Ägyptologie'' (Egyptology) (1890)
* ''Aus dem Morgenlande, Altes und Neues'' (From the Orient, Old and New) (1893)
* ''Mein Leben und Wandern'' (My Life and Travels), an autobiography (1894)
See also
*
Brugsch Papyrus
The Brugsch Papyrus (Pap. Berl. 3038), also known as the Greater Berlin Papyrus or simply Berlin Papyrus, Following Nunn, the Berlin Papyrus is "sometimes known as the Papyrus Brugsch" (p. 37). is an important ancient Egyptian medical papyrus. It ...
*
Theodor Brugsch
Theodor Brugsch (11 October 1878 – 11 July 1963) was a German internist and politician.
Early life
Theodor Brugsch was born in Graz. Theodor Brugsch's father had been born in Berlin, and it was in Berlin that the son received his schooling ...
Notes
References
;Attribution
*
*
External links
*Heinrich Brugsch
''My Life and My Travels'' Berlin, 1894 (English translation, 1992).
*
*
*
from various collections, at
Europeana
Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...
A History of Egypt Under the Pharaohsby H. K. Brugsch
A History of Egypt Under the Pharaohs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brugsch, Heinrich Karl
1827 births
1894 deaths
German Egyptologists
University of Göttingen faculty
Archaeologists from Berlin
People from the Province of Brandenburg
German male non-fiction writers