Heinrich Friedrich von Diez (2 September 1751 – 7 April 1817) was a German diplomat and orientalist. He was ennobled in 1789 by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

for his diplomatic service as the Prussian chargé d'affaires to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In his later life he served as a benefice of the Co-Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Kołobrzeg, which helped fund his research.

Biography

Diez was born on 2 September 1751 in

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg ...

, Anhalt-Bernburg. His father, Christian Friedrich Diez, was a textile merchant from Bernburg. His mother, Maria Elisabeth Zollicoffer, was from

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. His family moved from Bernburg to Magdeburg shortly after his birth. He attended school in Magdeburg before studying law in 1769. Upon finishing his education, he practiced as a junior lawyer in the Prussian judicial service and was appointed Clerk of the Court. After working in the civil service for a few years, in 1784 he asked

for a diplomatic position in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. The emperor granted him his request and appointed Diez as the Prussian chargé d'affaires to the

. He served in this capacity at the

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio, is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the complet ...

from 1786 until 1790. As a diplomat, he signed into action a formal alliance between the Ottomans and the Prussians on 31 January 1790. He was elevated to the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

, as a reward for his diplomatic service, in 1786. Upon being

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

, he was granted the right to include the nobiliary particle "von" in his surname. He continued to serve in Constantinople as the Secret Legation Council until 1791, when he was dismissed due to the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

. He moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

where he worked with the Ottoman special envoy Ahmed Azmi Efendi. He left later that year and moved to Kolberg, staying there until 1807, where he served as a benefice of the Cathedral of the Assumption. He was able to fund his own scientific and anthropological research, as well as a lavish lifestyle and material independence, due to his role as a benefice. In his later life he was a private scholar and free thinker, collecting books, Persian paintings, and artifacts in his villa overlooking the

Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers' ...

near Berlin. As an intellectual, he was associated with

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

, August Tholuck, and Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim and wrote various works on Eastern culture. He was made an honorary member of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

in 1814 and an external member of the

Göttingen Academy of Sciences Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The or ...

in 1816. Diez died on 7 April 1817, leaving behind a large fortune and a library of over 17,000 books, which he bequeathed to the

Prussian State Library The Berlin State Library (german: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. It is one of the lar ...

and the

Berlin Cathedral The Berlin Cathedral (german: link=yes, Berliner Dom), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Evangelical church and dynastic tomb ( House of Hohenzollern) on the Museum Island in centra ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diez, Heinrich Friedrich von 1751 births 1817 deaths 18th-century German civil servants 18th-century German lawyers German orientalists German untitled nobility People from Bernburg Prussian diplomats Prussian nobility