Heinrich Nissen (born 3 April 1839 in

Hadersleben Haderslev (; german: Hadersleben ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark with a population of 22,011 (1 January 2022).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 ...

) was a German professor of

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

Life

Heinrich Nissen studied in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

under

Karl Wilhelm Nitzsch Karl Wilhelm Nitzsch (22 December 1818 in Zerbst – 20 June 1880 in Berlin) was a German historian known for his studies of ancient Rome and medieval Germany. He was the son of classical philologist Gregor Wilhelm Nitzsch (1790–1861). In 18 ...

and 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 ...

under

August Boeckh August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

and

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

. After graduating, he travelled in

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 ...

between 1863 and 1867. This research was later published as the major work, ''Italischen Landeskunde'' (1883 and 1902). In 1869 he became an associate professor at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

, where during the following year he attained a full professorship. In 1877 he relocated to the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

as a professor of ancient history, and soon afterwards, served as a professor at

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 ...

.Statement(s) based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

, whose sources include: Ernst Kirsten: Heinrich Nissen. In: Bonner Gelehrte. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Bonn. Band 5: Geschichtswissenschaften. Bouvier, Bonn 1968, S. 190–208 (150 Jahre Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn 1818–1968 Band 2, 5). In 1884, he was elected as the successor to

Arnold Schaefer Arnold Dietrich Schaefer (16 October 1819 in Seehausen, today part of Bremen – 19 November 1883 in Bonn) was a German ancient historian, who was a professor of history at the University of Greifswald (1857-1865) and then at the University of Bon ...

at 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 ...

. There, unlike his predecessor, he exclusively taught ancient history. He also pioneered

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

research 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 ...

- based upon his study during his years in Italy - and was dedicated to Roman provincial

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. He was a co-founder of the Reichs-Limes-Kommission. Nissen is acclaimed as being possibly the first archaeoastronomer in the world. He retired in autumn 1911, succeeded by

Ulrich Wilcken Ulrich Wilcken (December 18, 1862 – December 10, 1944) was a German historian and papyrologist who was a native of Stettin. Biography Wilcken studied ancient history and Oriental studies in Leipzig, Tübingen and Berlin. He was a disciple of ...

. After his death he was buried in the Poppelsdorfer Friedhof (Poppelsdorfer Cemetery).

Works

* ''Kritische Untersuchungen über die Quellen der vierten und fünften Dekade des Livius'', 1863 – Critical studies of the sources from the fourth and fifth decades of

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 ...

. * ''Griechische und Römische metrologie'', 1866 – Greek and Roman

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...

.WorldCat Identities
Most widely held works by Heinrich Nissen * ''Pompeji'', Lüderitz, Berlin 1867. * ''Pompeianische Studien''. Leipzig 1877. * ''Italische Landeskunde'': Bd. 1 ''Land und Leute'', Berlin 1883; Bd. 2: ''Die Städte'' (2 Teilbände), Berlin 1902. * ''Orientation, Studien zur Geschichte der Religion'', 3 v. in 1, Berlin: Weidmann, 1906-1910.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissen, Heinrich 1839 births 1912 deaths People from Haderslev Municipality German classical scholars 19th-century German historians Members of the Prussian House of Lords Historians of antiquity University of Göttingen faculty University of Marburg faculty University of Strasbourg faculty University of Kiel alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male non-fiction writers