Leo Aryeh Mayer ( he, ליאון אריה מאיר, 12 January 1895 – 6 April 1959), was an Israeli scholar of

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...

and rector of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Biography

Mayer was born in 1895, in the city of Stanisławów, Galicia, then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now renamed

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...

in Ukraine), to an eminent rabbinical hasidic family. In 1913, he went to study Eastern Art at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, specialising in the Muslim East and its cultural history, and also studied at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

and 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 ...

.JStor: Leo A. Mayer
/ref> He was awarded a doctorate by the University of Vienna in 1917 for an unpublished thesis on town planning in Islam. While in Vienna, he also trained in the Jewish Theological Seminary in Vienna, and began to operate within the

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

"Hashomer" movement (later to become the

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

). In 1917, Mayer finished his studies and began teaching and working as an assistant librarian at the Institute of Oriental. In 1919, he returned to his hometown and started teaching in high school. However, due to the turmoil that followed the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(Stanisławów was fought over, and occupied at different time, by the forces of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, the

West Ukrainian National Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) or West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR), known for part of its existence as the Western Oblast of the Ukrainian People's Republic, was a short-lived polity that controlled most of Eastern Gali ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, the Ukrainian separatist forces and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, before it was finally incorporated into Poland until 1939), Meyer moved to

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 ...

and was employed in the oriental department of city's state library. Mayer emigrated to

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

in 1921 and began working the Department of Antiquities of the government of the British Mandate, as an inspector until 1929, and from 1929 to 1933 as Director of the Archives. After leaving the department, he was given the honorary appointment as a supervisor at the new Government museum in Jerusalem. In the meantime, in 1925, Meyer had joined the first staff of the Institute of Jewish Studies of the

, and was appointed Lecturer in Islamic Art and Archaeology in 1929. In 1932, he was promoted to full professor, becoming the first Sir David Sassoon Professor of Near Eastern Art and Archaeology and served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and as Rector of the university from 1943 to 1945. Mayer also worked jointly with

Eleazar Sukenik Eleazar Lipa Sukenik (12 August 1889, in Białystok – 28 February 1953, in Jerusalem) was an Israeli archaeologist and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is best known for helping establish the Department of Archaeology at the ...

, in connection with the excavations of the "Third Wall" of Jerusalem, built by

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

, king of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...

, in 41–44 CE. From 1940 to 1950, Mayer served as president of the

Israel Exploration Society The Israel Exploration Society (''IES'') (Hebrew:החברה לחקירת ארץ ישראל ועתיקותיה - Hakhevra Lekhakirat Eretz Yisrael Va'atikoteha), originally the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society, is a society devoted to historic ...

and was honorary president of the Israel Oriental Society. He was also elected a member of government Archaeological Council, a member of the Land of Israel Folklore Society, a member of Association of Archaeologists in London and an honorary member of American Heraldry Society.

Awards and honours

* In 1948, Mayer was made an honorary

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

. * In 1958, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

. * The L. A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, established in 1974, was founded in his memory.

Published books (partial)

* ''Excavations at the Third Wall of Jerusalem's Old City'', 1930 (jointly with A.L. Sukenik) * * ''Beginning and rise of Islamic Archeology'', 1935 * ''Annual bibliography of Islamic art and archaeology :India excepted'', 1935 * * * ''new Material for Mamaluk Heraldry'', Jerusalem, 1937 * articles in ''Ars Islamica'', 1936-7 * ''Bibliography of Islamic numismatics'', Royal Asiatic Society, 1939, 1954 * ''Mamaluk costume'', 1952 * ''Religious buildings of the Muslims in Israel'', 1950 (jointly with Jacob Pinkerfeld and

Yigael Yadin Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981. B ...

) * ''L'art juif en terre de l'Islam'', 1959 * ''Bibliography of Jewish Art'' * ''Islamic Architects and their works'', 1956 * ''Islamic Astrolabists and their works'', 1956 * ''Islamic Metalworkers and their works'', 1959 * ''Islamic Armourers and their works'', 1962

Published articles (partial list)

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links