Eliezer Paul Kraus, 11 December 1904 – 10 or 12 October 1944, was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Arabist
An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature).
Origins
Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the ...
born in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. He is the author of a number of seminal works on early
Arabic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logi ...
, with a special focus on
Arabic alchemy and chemistry. Some of his writings on this subject are still standard reference works in the field today.
Having been educated in Prague and
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 ...
(where he studied under
Julius Ruska
Julius Ferdinand Ruska (9 February 1867, Bühl, Baden – 11 February 1949, Schramberg) was a German orientalist, historian of science and educator.
He was a critical scholar of alchemical literature, and of Islamic science, raising many issues ...
), the rise of the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in 1930s Germany forced him to move first to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and later to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, where he died in 1944. He allegedly committed suicide or, according to family claims, was politically assassinated.
[Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher](_blank)
Eugene Sheppard, Brandeis University Press (Google Books)[Se]
Strauss papers
box 5 folders 11-15
Academic Studies and Work
Paul Kraus was born in Prague.
Kraus was educated in Prague, Berlin (where he met his first wife, Bettina, and received his doctorate in 1929) and Paris.
Kraus was known for his fluency in many oriental languages, including
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 ...
,
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
,
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
(Ethiopian),
Accadian,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
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 ...
.
In 1925, as a young
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 ...
, he went to
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, living at first on a
Kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
, but a year later moving to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and beginning studies at the newly opened
Hebrew University
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 ...
. During this year he was briefly married and divorced. By the end of 1926 he had left Jerusalem and begun a research trip through
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, ending in Germany to continue his studies in Berlin.
In 1933, with the Nazis coming to power in Germany and many Jews losing their jobs, Kraus left Berlin for Paris, where he was able to continue his studies under the French Orientalist
Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon (25 July 1883 – 31 October 1962) was a Catholic scholar of Islam and a pioneer of Catholic-Muslim mutual understanding. He was an influential figure in the twentieth century with regard to the Catholic church's relationship w ...
. He stayed for three years.
In 1935 he first published a French translation of
Abu Bakr al-Razi
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (full name: ar, أبو بکر محمد بن زکریاء الرازي, translit=Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī, label=none), () rather than ar, زکریاء, label=none (), as for example in , or in . In m ...
's ''Philosophic Life'', following it in 1936 with a thesis on the work and importance of
Jābir ibn Hayyān
Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Arabic: , variously called al-Ṣūfī, al-Azdī, al-Kūfī, or al-Ṭūsī), died 806−816, is the purported author of an enormous number and variety of works in Arabic, often called the Jabirian corpus. The ...
(whose name was latinized as ''Geber'') to the science of
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
. The thesis advanced the possibility that no such person as Geber had ever existed, or that even if he had, the original book might have been written by a group of students, a decade after he died.
In 1936, he was offered positions at three universities:
The Holy Muslim University of India
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, 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 ...
, and the
University of Cairo
Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
. He took up the Cairo offer, moving there in 1937. He worked there at the University of Cairo, teaching
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in ...
and
Semitic Languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...
, as well as at the
French Archeological Institute of Cairo.
In 1938 Kraus discovered the
Al-Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
manuscript (the philosophy of
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
and the
Commentary on the Laws) in an
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
library, and notified his future brother-in-law,
Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
, about it. The two were excited about the prospects of translating, publishing and researching the manuscript. An Al-Farabi conference was called for 1939 in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, but was canceled due to the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
According to his Czech language biography, in a 1939 trip to Jerusalem, he regretted turning down the university position, since he discovered that the academic scene was completely changed, bustling with the top researchers of the field, and nothing to be compared with the time he had first been there in 1926.
In 1941, he married Bettina Strauss, the sister of Professor
Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
. The two had been acquainted since the late 1920s and had traveled together to Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt for research. Bettina died during the birth of their daughter, Jenny Ann, in 1942.
In 1943, after his second wife's death, he traveled to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
with his daughter, where he married
Dorothee Metlitzki, herself a noted academic and a founder of the Hebrew University.
At that time he was invited to a public debate held at the Hebrew University, where he set out his theory of the coherency of the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
as a series of lyrics, perhaps as an
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
, which, he proposed, explained many inconsistencies and repeated parts in the texts. His behavior at the debate was described as "eccentric". His theories were ridiculed, many of his contemporaries shunned him, and it seems he had suffered a nervous breakdown.
After the debate in Jerusalem, he returned to Cairo alone, his new wife remaining in a Jerusalem hospital with a serious illness. The political situation in Cairo began to deteriorate; Kraus's superiors at the University of Cairo were fired. It was clear that there was no future for him in Cairo, but Jerusalem had closed its doors to him as well. Rooms in his apartment were rented to two Lebanese students,
Albert Hourani
Albert Habib Hourani ( ar, ألبرت حبيب حوراني ''Albart Ḥabīb Ḥūrānī''; 31 March 1915 – 17 January 1993) was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies.
Back ...
and his brother
Cecil
Cecil may refer to:
People with the name
* Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name)
* Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
Places Canada
*Cecil, Alberta, ...
- both later to become prominent scholars. They noticed that upon his return from Jerusalem he appeared
manic-depressive
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. Apparently, Kraus was accused of stealing funds that were intended for library purchases.
Several months later during 1944, on October 10 or 12, Kraus was found dead, hanging in the bathroom of Albert Hourani's house. The Egyptian police determined it was suicide, although his family claimed they had proof that Kraus was assassinated for being a Jew or for his ties with Zionism.
His daughter
Jenny
Jenny may refer to:
* Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people
* Jenny (surname), a family name
Animals
* Jenny (donkey), a female donkey
* Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...
was adopted by his brother in law Professor Strauss at the age of four. Kraus's papers, which had been stored in the French Institute in Cairo and apparently plundered by other scholars, were finally brought to the United States by his daughter who donated them to the Special Collections Library of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
.
Selected publications
* ''Altbabylonische Briefe: aus der Vorderasiatischen Abteilung der Preussischen Staatsmuseen zu Berlin''. Leipzig: J C Hinrichs, 1931.
*
* ''Essai sur l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam''. Paris: G P Maisonneuve; Cairo: al-Khanji, 1935.
* ''Julius Ruska''. Bruges, Belgium: Saint Catherine Press, 1938.
* ''Plato Arabus''. Edited by
Richard Walzer
Richard Rudolf Walzer, FBA (14 July 1900 in Berlin – 16 April 1975 in Oxford) was a German-born British scholar of Greek philosophy and of Arabic philosophy.
''Education:'' Werner-Siemens-Realgymnasium, Berlin-Schöneberg; Frederick Willi ...
, Paul Kraus, et al. London: Warburg Institute, 1943.
* ''Jâbir ibn Hayyân—Contribution à l’histoire des idées scientifiques dans l’Islam—Jâbir et la science grecque''. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1986.
''Alchemie, Ketzerei, Apokryphen in fruhen Islam: Gesammelte Aufsatze'' Edited by
Rémi Brague
Rémi Brague (born 8 September 1947) is a French historian of philosophy, specializing in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian thought of the Middle Ages. He is professor emeritus of Arabic and religious philosophy at the Sorbonne, and Romano Guardini ...
. Hildesheim and New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 1994. A collection of eleven studies by Paul Kraus, containing a brief biography.
See also
*
Julius Ruska
Julius Ferdinand Ruska (9 February 1867, Bühl, Baden – 11 February 1949, Schramberg) was a German orientalist, historian of science and educator.
He was a critical scholar of alchemical literature, and of Islamic science, raising many issues ...
, his mentor
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
**Review in:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Guide to the Paul Kraus Papers 1903-1996Chicago University Library online
University of Valencia Cronos magazine of 1999 (French)
Image of Paul Krauson Cronos magazine cover
Islamic philosophical theology By Parviz Morewedgequoting and arguing with Kraus' hypothesis.
A tribute to Dorothee MetlitzkiRichard Walzerwrote book co-edited by Kraus.
Kraus-Meyerhof Offprintsoriginally compiled by Paul Kraus.
*A
articleby Maja Ščrbačić on the Dubnow's institute blog (with images from Kraus' diary).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus, Paul
Czech Jews
Czech Arabists
Czech orientalists
Writers from Prague
1904 births
1944 deaths
20th-century Czech historians
Cairo University faculty
Czech expatriates
Suicides in Egypt
Deaths by hanging
Jewish orientalists
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France
Scholars of medieval Islamic philosophy