Mostafa Abdel-Hamid el-Abbadi ( ar, مصطفى العبادي; 10 October 1928 – 13 February 2017) was a prominent Egyptian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

and professor specialized in

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

studies. He died on 13 February 2017, at the age of 88, in Alexandria.

Education

El-Abbadi was educated in Egypt and the United Kingdom. He completed his undergraduate BA at

Alexandria University Alexandria University ( ar, جامعة الإسكندرية) is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an indepen ...

. At age 22, he was awarded a scholarship from the Egyptian government to study at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He graduated with special BA and PhD in

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 ...

at Cambridge. He received an honorary doctorate from the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...

(UQAM).

Work

After graduation, El-Abbadi became a lecturer and then a professor in Greco-Roman studies at the

University of Alexandria Alexandria University ( ar, جامعة الإسكندرية) is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an indepen ...

Ismail Serageldin Ismail Serageldin (; born 1944 in Giza, Egypt), Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in 2002, is currently, Emeritus Librarian, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Alexa ...

credited him with initially proposing the revival of the ancient

library of Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...

. The project was embraced by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1986, and the

Bibliotheca Alexandrina The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin for "Library of Alexandria"; arz, مكتبة الإسكندرية ', ) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library ...

was completed in 2003, but he was not invited to the opening. He was critical of some of aspects of the project as realized by the Egyptian government, telling the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' that the library was at risk of becoming "a cultural center" rather than fulfilling its "promise as a world-class research center." He authored the Library of Alexandria entry in the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

''. El-Abbadi was a member of Egypt's Supreme Council of Culture (SCC), Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and l'

Institut d'Égypte The Institut d'Égypte or Egyptian Scientific Institute is a learned society in Cairo specializing in Egyptology. It was established in 1798 by Napoleon Bonaparte to carry out research during his Egyptian campaign and is the oldest scientific inst ...

. He served as president of the Archaeological Society of Alexandria and was an advisor to UNESCO.

Personal life

He was married to the literary critic and scholar Azza Kararah, who died in 2015. His father, Abdel-Hamid El-Abbadi, was a historian and founding dean of the Faculty of Arts at the

. He had two children, a son, the computer scientist Amr El Abbadi and a daughter, Dr Mohga El-Abbadi.

Honours

El-Abbadi was a recipient of the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

. On 10 October 2022, he was celebrated online with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

Selected works

* ''What happened to the ancient Library of Alexandria?'' Leiden: Brill (2008). * ''The Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria.'' Paris: UNESCO (1990, 1992, 1999). * "The Alexandrian Citizenship," ''Journal of Egyptian Archaeology'' (1962).

References

External links

*
Profiled in: Stille, Alexander. "Resurrecting Alexandria," ''The New Yorker'', May 8, 2000.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbadi, Mostafa El- 1928 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Egyptian historians Alexandria University faculty Recipients of the Order of Merit (Egypt) Alexandria University alumni Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 21st-century Egyptian historians