![Martin_Theo_Houtsma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Martin_Theo_Houtsma.jpg)
Martijn Theodoor Houtsma (15 January 1851, in
Irnsum,
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
– 9 February 1943, in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
), often referred to as M. Th. Houtsma, was a Dutch orientalist and professor at the
University of Utrecht
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
. He was a fellow of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a leading expert on the history of the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
. He remains best known for his work as editor of the first edition (1913–38) of the standard encyclopedic reference work on
Islam, the ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam''.
Life and works
Houtsma was the son of Otto Evertz Houtsma, a wood miller and later the Mayor of
Rauwerderhem
Rauwerderhem is a former municipality in the province of Friesland. It existed until 1984. Rauwerderhem is now named Boarnsterhim (City: Irnsum
Jirnsum ( nl, Irnsum) is a village in Leeuwarden municipality in the province of Friesland, the Nethe ...
in
Irnsum, and Feikje Maria Petronella Horreüs Laurman. He attended the
Latin school
The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...
at
Dokkum
Dokkum is a Dutch fortified city in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland. It has 12,669 inhabitants (February 8, 2020). The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the ''bolwerken'' (bulwarks). ...
before enrolling at the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
for a degree in theology in 1868 which he soon combined with the study of Eastern languages. Among his tutors at Leiden were Antonie Rutgers,
Reinhart Dozy
Reinhart Pieter Anne Dozy (Leiden, Netherlands, 21 February 1820 – Leiden, 29 April 1883) was a Dutch scholar of French (Huguenot) origin, who was born in Leiden. He was an Orientalist scholar of Arabic language, history and literature.
Biogra ...
,
Michael Jan de Goeje
Michael Jan de Goeje (August 13, 1836 – May 17, 1909) was a Dutch orientalist focusing on Arabia and Islam.
Early life
Michael Jan de Goeje was born in Dronrijp, Friesland. He devoted himself at an early age to the study of oriental lan ...
and
Abraham Kuenen
Abraham Kuenen (16 September 1828 – 10 December 1891) was a Dutch Protestant theologian.
Kuenen was born in Haarlem, the son of an apothecary. On his father's death it became necessary for him to leave school and take a humble place in the bus ...
. He graduated in 1875 as a Doctor of Theology from Leiden where he wrote his dissertation entitled ''De strijd over het dogma in den Islam tot op el-Ash'ari'' (The Struggle Over Dogma in Islam Up to
Al-Ashari), a work offering a systematic study of dogmatic developments in Islam from the time of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
up to c.950. In 1874 Houtsma became a lecturer in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
at Leiden and between 1874 and 1890 worked as the Assistant Keeper of the Oriental Manuscripts at the
University Library
An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...
. During this time he focused on the study of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Turkish, and on the history of the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
in particular. For a period of time he was also a lecturer in Persian and Turkish. In 1890, he was appointed the professor of Hebrew and Israelite antiquities at the
University of Utrecht
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
and elected as a member of the
Royal Academy of Sciences. At Utrecht, Houtsma used his position mainly for the organisation of Islamic research, though his abiding interest with the study of the
Old Testament continued. In 1898, he was appointed Chief Editor of the project initiated by the International Orientalist Congress to produce an encyclopaedia of Islam. This resulted in the publication of the first edition of the ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam'' whose first volume appeared in 1913 in parallel
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, and
French editions. He retired from professorship in 1917 but stayed on at Utrecht.
Houtsma published the index volume to the Oriental Catalogue of the library at Leiden University, the ''Catalogus codicum orientalium Bibliothecae Academiae Lugduno-Batavae'' in 1875, and had worked closely with his senior, de Goeje, in enlarging its second edition, published in 1888. His first Oriental text was the ''Akhtal, Encommium Omayadarum'' (1878) of the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
poet
Al-Akhtal al-Taghlibi. This was followed by two Arabic texts, the ''Kitāb al-Addād'' of Ibn al-Anbārī (1881) and the history of
al-Ya‘qūbī (1883). His major work on the history of the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
appeared between 1886 and 1902 in the form of ''Recueil de textes relatifs à l'histoire des Seljoucides'' (Collection of Texts Relating to the History of the Seljuk People), published in four volumes, two in Persian, one in Arabic and one in Turkish. He also wrote the article on the Seljuks for the ''
Encyclopaedia Britannica''. In 1921, he published a volume comprising the verses of the 12th century Persian poet
Niẓāmī Ganjavī entitled ''Choix de vers tirés de la Khamsa de Niẓāmī'' (Selected Verses from the ''Khamsa'' of Niẓāmī) and contributed an article on the poet to the ''Volume of Oriental studies presented to Edward G. Browne'' (1922). Houtsma remains most well known, however, for his work as the Chief Editor of the first edition (1913–38) of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.
Selected Bibliography
* ''De strijd over het dogma in den Islam tot op el-Ashcari.'' Leiden, (1875)
* ''Histoire des Seldjoucides de l'Iraq.'' Leiden, (1889)
* 'Bilder aus einem Persischen Fālbuch'. In: ''Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie'', Vol. III, (1890)
* ''De Ontwikkelingsgang der hebreeuwsche taalstudie.'' Utrecht, (1890)
* M. Th. Houtsma "Some Remarks on the History of the Saljuks", in ''Acta Orientalia.'' 3 (1924).
* M. Th. Houtsma et al. (eds.): ''The Encyclopædia of Islam. A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples''. 4 vols. and Suppl., Leiden: Brill, (1913–38)
See also
*
Michael Jan de Goeje
Michael Jan de Goeje (August 13, 1836 – May 17, 1909) was a Dutch orientalist focusing on Arabia and Islam.
Early life
Michael Jan de Goeje was born in Dronrijp, Friesland. He devoted himself at an early age to the study of oriental lan ...
*
Reinhart Dozy
Reinhart Pieter Anne Dozy (Leiden, Netherlands, 21 February 1820 – Leiden, 29 April 1883) was a Dutch scholar of French (Huguenot) origin, who was born in Leiden. He was an Orientalist scholar of Arabic language, history and literature.
Biogra ...
*
Jan Hendrik Scholten
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor
1851 births
1943 deaths
Dutch orientalists
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
People from Boarnsterhim
Dutch encyclopedists