Simon Ockley (16789 August 1720) was a
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, ...
Orientalist.
Biography
Ockley was born at
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...
. He was educated at
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light sid ...
, and graduated B.A. in 1697, MA. in 1701, and B.D. in 1710.
He became fellow of Jesus College and vicar of
Swavesey
Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives.
Listed as ''Suauesye'' in the Domesday ...
, and in 1711 was chosen
Adams Professor of Arabic in the university. He had a large family, and his latter days were embittered by pecuniary embarrassments, which form the subject of a chapter in
Isaac D'Israeli's ''Calamities of Authors''. The preface to the second volume of his ''
History of the Saracens'' is dated from
Cambridge Castle
Cambridge Castle, locally also known as Castle Mound, is located in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. Originally built after the Norman conquest to control the strategically important route to the north of England, it played a role in the con ...
, where he lay a prisoner for debt.
Ockley maintained that a knowledge of Oriental literature was essential to the proper study of theology, and in the preface to his first book, the ''
Introductio ad linguas orientales'' (1706), he urges the importance of the study.
He died at Swavesey.
Works
*''
The History of the Saracens'', is his main work. It was published in two volumes, 1708–1718, and long enjoyed a great reputation; unfortunately Ockley took as his main authority a manuscript in the
Bodleian
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
of
Al-Waqidi
Abu `Abdullah Muhammad Ibn ‘Omar Ibn Waqid al-Aslami (Arabic ) (c. 130 – 207 AH; c. 747 – 823 AD) was a historian commonly referred to as al-Waqidi (Arabic: ). His surname is derived from his grandfather's name Waqid and thus he became fa ...
's ''Futúh al-Shám'', which is rather historical romance than histor
* A translation of
Leon Modena
Leon de Modena or in Hebrew name Yehudah Aryeh Mi-Modena (1571–1648) was a Jewish scholar born in Venice to a family whose ancestors migrated to Italy after an expulsion of Jews from France.
Life
He was a precocious child and grew up to be a re ...
's ''History of the Present Jews throughout the World'' (1707).
*''
The Improvement of Human Reason, exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan'' (1708), an English translation of ''Hayy ibn Yaqdhan'', a 12th-century
philosophical novel by
Ibn Tufayl
Ibn Ṭufail (full Arabic name: ; Latinized form: ''Abubacer Aben Tofail''; Anglicized form: ''Abubekar'' or ''Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail''; c. 1105 – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theol ...
.
* Translated from Arabic the ''Second Book of Esdras''
* ''An Aᴄᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ of Sᴏᴜᴛʜ-Wᴇsᴛ Bᴀʀʙᴀʀʏ: ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴɪɴɢ What is most Remarkable in the Territories of the Kɪɴɢ of Fᴇᴢ and Mᴏʀᴏᴄᴄᴏ. Written by a Person who had been a Slave there a considerable Time; and Published from his Authentick Manuscript. To which are Added, Two ʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀs: One from the Present King of Mᴏʀᴏᴄᴄᴏ to Colonel Kirk; The Other to Sir Cloudesly Shovell: With Sir Cloudesly's Answer, &c.'' London: Printed for J. Bowyer and H. Clements, 1713
* ''Sentences of Ali son-in-law of Mahomet, and his fourth successor.'' Translated from an Arabic manuscript in the Bodleian library at Oxford. London, B. Lintot, 1717.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ockley, Simon
1678 births
1720 deaths
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge
Historians of the Middle East
Translators from Arabic
British Arabists
Sir Thomas Adams's Professors of Arabic
Writers from Exeter
People from South Cambridgeshire District
People imprisoned for debt