Samuel Miklos Stern (
Tab, Hungary
Tab (german: Tabau) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary, and the seat of Tab District. It is situated approximately 175 km South West of Budapest and 22 km from Lake Balaton.
History
Tab was first mentions as ''villa Thob'' in an offici ...
, 22 November 1920 –
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, 29 October 1969) was a
Hungarian–
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
academic specializing in
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studi ...
.
Life
He was born to an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
family in Hungary, and lost his father at the age of three. His mother took over his early education, and ensured his upbringing in a religious-minded Jewish manner; Stern learned to read
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 ...
before he could read the
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
. He continued his education at a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
school and at a
gymnasium in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, where he acquired knowledge of Greek and Latin. At the same time, Stern began learning Arabic on his own. With the rise of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, in 1939 his mother sent Stern to safety in
Mandatory 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 ...
. She remained behind, and would be killed during the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
.
In Palestine he enrolled in 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 ...
, where he studied under a series of prominent teachers, including the Arabist
David H. Baneth, the Semiticist
Hans J. Polotsky, the philosopher
Leon Roth, the historian of Islamic philosophy
Julius Guttmann Julius Guttmann (Hebrew: יוליוס גוטמן), born Yitzchak Guttmann (15 April 1880 in Hildesheim – 19 May 1950 in Jerusalem), was a German-born rabbi, Jewish theologian, and philosopher of religion.
Biography
Julius was born to Jakob Gut ...
, and the Romanist
Hiram Pflaum-Peri. At the Hebrew University he also met and befriended
Shelomo Dov Goitein
Shelomo Dov Goitein (April 3, 1900 – February 6, 1985) was a German-Jewish ethnographer, historian and Arabist known for his research on Jewish life in the Islamic Middle Ages, and particularly on the Cairo Geniza.
Biography
Shelomo Dov (Fritz ...
, who introduced him to medieval Islamic history. During
World War II
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 ...
he interrupted his studies and served with the British censor office at
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
and
Port Sudan
Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...
. He finished his university studies in 1947. During his war service Stern met the Orientalist
Paul Kraus, who introduced him to
Isma'ili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
studies, a major area of interest for Stern during his later career.
After completing his degree, he went to
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
for post-graduate studies under
H. A. R. Gibb
Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb (2 January 1895 – 22 October 1971), known as H. A. R. Gibb, was a Scottish historian and Orientalist.
Early life and education
Gibb was born on Wednesday, 2 January 1895, in Alexandria, Egypt, ...
at
St. Catherine's College. He completed his PhD on
Andalusi The Arabic '' nisbah'' (attributive title) Al-Andalusi denotes an origin from Al-Andalus. Al-Andalusi may refer to:
* Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati
* Ibn Hazm
* Ibn Juzayy
* Ibn 'Atiyya
* Said Al-Andalusi
* Yaʿīsh ibn Ibrāhīm al-Umawī
See also
* A ...
strophic
Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, w ...
poetry (''The Old Andalusian
Muwashshah
''Muwashshah'' ( ar, موشح ' literally means "girdled" in Classical Arabic; plural ' or ' ) is the name for both an Arabic poetic form and a secular musical genre. The poetic form consists of a multi-lined strophic verse poem written ...
'', published posthumously as ''Hispano-Arabic Strophic Poetry'') in 1950. He would remain based at Oxford University for the remainder of his life: he accepted invitations to lecture at other institutions, but refused any permanent position, despite offers from the likes of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. At Oxford he lived in the same house as his close friends, Professor
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 ...
and his wife Sofie.
In 1951–1956, Stern served as assistant editor for the second edition of the ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published in ...
''. In 1956–57 he was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Coins at the
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
in Oxford, followed by being elected to a Research Fellowship at
All Souls College
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
. From 1964 and until his death he was additionally Lecturer In the History of the Islamic Civilization. Stern died of a severe
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
attack in October 1969.
Work
Stern was a prolific scholar who wrote on a variety of topics and issues. By the time of his death, he had 265 publications, including a few books. Most of his writings on medieval Islamic history and civilization were posthumously collected and reprinted in three
Variorum Collected Studies Variorum Collected Studies is an academic book series in the humanities published by Ashgate. The aim of each volume is to bring together, for the first time, a selection of articles by a leading scholar on their particular area of expertise. This a ...
volumes (''Medieval Arabic and Hebrew Thought'' in 1983, ''History and Culture in the Medieval Muslim World'' in 1984 and ''Coins and Documents from the Medieval Middle East'' in 1986).
Bibliography
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References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Samuel Miklos
1920 births
1969 deaths
Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
People from Somogy County
British orientalists
Scholars of medieval Islamic history
Hungarian Jews
Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom