Johann Michael Vansleb (1 November 1635 – 1679) was a German

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

and

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 Med ...

traveller. He converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was a member of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of C ...

from 1666. ''(Depending on the language of publication, his name is spelled a number of different ways including: Wansleben, Vansleben, Vanslebio, Vanslebius, Vanslep, Wanslebio, Wanslebius, J. M. Vansleb, Giovanni Michele, F. Vansleb (F for

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

), P. Vansleb or Jean.)''

Biography

Vansleb was born in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits ...

. In 1663, after a long stay in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, Vansleb planned a journey to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

in search of religious manuscripts for his patron

Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha Ernest I, called "Ernest the Pious" (25 December 1601 – 26 March 1675), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Altenburg. The duchies were later merged into Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was the ninth but sixth surviving son of Johann II, Duke of S ...

. He never got beyond Egypt, however. It was while staying in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, during his return voyage, that he converted to Catholicism. In the service of

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, Vansleb made another attempt to journey to Ethiopia, and once again went no further than Egypt. Beginning his travels from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

on 20 May 1671, Vansleb felt sick on arrival in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

(which he explained as caused by the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

then scouring the island). Despite being very sick for an extended time (and preparing to leave this world, as he explains) he managed to visit

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

, Damascus, Aleppo and

Seyda Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital, ...

during the next 10 months, finally arriving in

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easte ...

, Egypt, in March 1672. Vansleb travelled extensively in Egypt during the next 12 months, making a journey as far down as

Sohag Sohag ( , ), also spelled as ''Sawhāj'', ''Suhag'' and ''Suhaj'', is a city on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt. It has been the capital of Sohag Governorate since 1960, before which the capital was Girga and the name of the governorate wa ...

, and produced one of the earliest accounts of Upper Egypt: documenting the land, the people (especially the

Copt Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Co ...

ic community), and pharaonic monuments such as the

Giza pyramids The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of ...

, the

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...

and the pyramids of Hawara, as well as

ic monuments, including the White Monastery. One of his stated missions was to reach

Esna Esna ( ar, إسنا , egy, jwny.t or ; cop, or ''Snē'' from ''tꜣ-snt''; grc-koi, Λατόπολις ''Latópolis'' or (''Pólis Látōn'') or (''Lattōn''); Latin: ''Lato''), is a city of Egypt. It is located on the west bank of ...

, but he never travelled that far up the Nile. Instead he relates a report from two Capuchin missionary brothers, P. Protais and

Charles-François d'Orléans Charles-François is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec (1719–1791), French soldier and diplomat * Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance Charles-François is a given name. N ...

, who had visited all the main sites of Upper Egypt in 1668. Contemporary accounts ''A letter from Dublin, concerning the Porphyry Pillars in Egypt'' By Dr

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

, published in ''A collection of curious Travels'', London, Vol II, 1738. relate that Vansleb's account was received with mixed feelings. Vansleb is a keen observer, repeatedly trying to get to the bottom of things, yet at other times accepting obscure and spurious explanations without much resistance, for example on the mating rituals of the

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern ...

Works

* Ludolf, Hiob, ''Lexicon Aethiopico-Latinum'', Ed. by J. M. Wansleben, London 1661. * Nouvelle Relation En forme de Iournal, D´vn Voyage Fait en Egypte. Par le P. Vansleb, R.D., en 1672 & 1673. Paris. chez Estienne Michallet, 1677. : The Present State of Egypt: or A New Relation of a Late Voyage into That Kingdom Performed in the Years 1672 and 1673, London, 1678. ( English translation)

References

Sources

Hiob Ludolf
* ''The Present State of Egypt: or A New Relation of a Late Voyage into That Kingdom Performed in the Years 1672 and 1673'', London, 1678. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vansleb, Johann Michael 1635 births 1679 deaths German Dominicans Linguists from Germany German travel writers Writers from Erfurt Converts to Roman Catholicism German male non-fiction writers