Adam Olearius
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Adam Olearius (born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger, 24 September 159922 February 1671) was a German scholar,
mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...
,
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
. He became secretary to the ambassador sent by
Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederic ...
, to the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
of
Safavid Persia Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
(Iran), and published two books about the events and observations during his travels.


Travels

He was born at Aschersleben, near
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
. After studying at
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
he became librarian and court mathematician to Frederick III, and in 1633 he was appointed secretary to the ambassadors
Philipp Crusius Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864 ...
,
jurisconsult A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
, and Otto Bruggemann, a merchant from Hamburg, sent by the duke to
Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
and Persia in the hope of making arrangements by which his newly founded city of
Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Du ...
should become the terminus of an overland
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
-trade. This embassy started from
Gottorp Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...
on 22 October 1633 and travelled by
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
,
Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
,
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Dorpat (five months' stay),
Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...
,
Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...
, Ladoga, and
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
(14 August 1634). Here they concluded an advantageous treaty with Tsar
Michael of Russia Michael I (Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia. He w ...
, and returned forthwith to Gottorp (14 December 16347 April 1635) to procure the ratification of this arrangement from the duke, before proceeding to Persia. With this accomplished, they started afresh from Hamburg on 22 October 1635, arrived at Moscow on 29 March 1636; and left Moscow on 30 June for
Balakhna Balakhna (russian: Балахна́) is a town and the administrative center of Balakhninsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, north of Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the obl ...
near
Nizhniy Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, to where they had already sent agents (in 1634/1635) to prepare a vessel for their descent of the
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
. Their voyage down the great river and over the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
was slow and hindered by accidents, especially by grounding, as near Darband on 14 November 1636; but at last, by way of
Shamakhy Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving it ...
(three months' delay here), Ardabil,
Soltaniyeh Soltaniyeh ( fa, سلطانيه, also Romanized as Solţānīyeh, Solţāneyyeh, Sultaniye, and Sultānīyeh; also known as Sa‘īdīyeh; ) is the capital city of Soltaniyeh District of Soltaniyeh County, Zanjan Province, northwestern Iran. At ...
and Kasvin, they reached the Persian court at
Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
(3 August 1637) and were received by the Safavid king,
Shah Safi Sam Mirza ( fa, سام میرزا) (161112 May 1642), better known by his dynastic name of Shah Safi ( fa, شاه صفی), was the sixth Safavid shah (king) of Iran, ruling from 1629 to 1642. Early life Safi was given the name Sam Mirza when ...
(16 August). Negotiations here were not as successful as at Moscow, and the embassy left Isfahan on 21 December 1637, and returned home by
Rasht Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...
,
Lenkoran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...
, Astrakhan,
Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, and other places. At
Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...
, Olearius parted from his colleagues (15 April 1639) and embarked directly for Lübeck. On his way he had made a chart of the
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
, and partly for this reason Michael wished to either persuade or compel him to enter his service. Once back at Gottorp, Olearius became librarian to the duke, who also made him keeper of his cabinet of curiosities, and induced the tsar to excuse his (promised) return to Moscow. Under his care the Gottorp library and cabinet were greatly enriched in manuscripts, books, and oriental and other works of art: in 1651 he purchased, for this purpose, the collection of the Dutch scholar and physician, (born Berent ten Broecke). He died at Gottorp on 22 February 1671.


Books

It is by his admirable narrative of the Russian and the Persian legation (''Beschreibung der muscowitischen und persischen Reise'', Schleswig, 1647, and afterwards in several enlarged editions, 1656, etc.) that Olearius is best known, though he also published a history of
Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
(''Kurtzer Begriff einer holsteinischen Chronic'', Schleswig, 1663), a famous catalogue of the Holstein-Gottorp cabinet (1666), and a translation of the ''
Gulistan Gulistan, Golestan or Golastan ( fa, گلستان) means "flower land" in Persian language (''gol'' meaning "flower", and ''-stan'' or meaning "land"). It may refer to: Places Iran "Golestan" most often refers to: * Golestan province in nor ...
'' (''Persianisches Rosenthal'', Schleswig, 1654), to which was written by
Saadi Shirazi Saadi Shīrāzī ( fa, ابومحمّد مصلح‌الدین بن عبدالله شیرازی), better known by his pen name Saadi (; fa, سعدی, , ), also known as Sadi of Shiraz (, ''Saʿdī Shīrāzī''; born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was ...
appended a translation of the fables of
Luqman Luqman ( ar, لقمان, Luqmān; also known as Luqman the Wise or Luqman al-Hakim) was a wise man after whom Surah Luqman, the 31st sura (chapter) of the Quran, was named. Luqman ( BC) is believed to have been from Nubia or from Egypt.Ibn Kat ...
. A French version of the ''Beschreibung'' was published by Abraham de Wicquefort (''Voyages en Moscovie, Tartarie et Perse, par Adam Olearius'', Paris, 1656), an English version was made by John Davies of Kidwelly (''Travels of the Ambassadors sent by Frederic, Duke of Holstein, to the Great Duke of Muscovy and the King of Persia'', London, 1662; and 1669), and a Dutch translation by Dieterius van Wageningen (''Beschrijvingh van de nieuwe Parciaensche ofte Orientaelsche Reyse'', Utrecht, 1651); an Italian translation of the Russian sections also appeared (''Viaggi di Moscovia'', Viterbo and Rome, 1658).
Paul Fleming Paul Fleming may refer to: * Paul Fleming (footballer) (born 1967), English professional footballer *Paul Fleming (poet) (1609–1640), German poet * Paul Fleming (boxer) (born 1988), Australian Olympic boxer *Paul Fleming (restaurateur), American ...
the poet and J. A. de Mandelslo, whose travels to the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...
are usually published with those of Olearius, accompanied the embassy. Under Olearius' direction the celebrated globe of Gottorp and
armillary sphere An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...
were executed between 1654 and 1664; the globe was given to
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
of Russia in 1713 by Duke Frederick's grandson,
Christian Augustus Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (29 November 1690, in Dornburg – 16 March 1747, in Zerbst) was a German prince of the House of Ascania, and the father of Catherine the Great of Russia. He was a ruler of the Principality of Anh ...
. Olearius' unpublished works include a ''Lexicon Persicum'' and several other Persian studies. By his lively and well-informed writing he introduced Germany (and the rest of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
) to
Persian literature Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
and culture.
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...
depended on him for local colour in writing his satiric ''Lettres Persanes'' (''
Persian Letters ''Persian Letters'' (french: Lettres persanes) is a literary work, published in 1721, by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of two fictional Persian noblemen, Usbek and Rica, who spend several years in France ...
'', 1721), though he used the French translation, ''Relation de voyage de Moscovie, Tartarie et de Perse.'' Among his many translations of Persian literature into German are Saadi's '' Golistan'': ''Persianischer Rosenthal. In welchem viel lustige Historien ... von ... Schich Saadi in Persianischer Sprache beschrieben,'' printed in Schleswig by Holwein in 1654.


See also

*
Globe of Gottorf The Globe of Gottorf is a 17th-century, large, walk-in globe of the Earth and the celestial sphere. It measures 3.1 meters in diameter. Conceived and constructed at Gottorf Castle near Schleswig, it was later transferred to the Kunstkamera museum ...


References


Further reading

* Faramarz Behzad: ''Adam Olearius Persianischer Rosenthal: Untersuchungen zur Übersetzung von Saadis „Golestan“ im 17. Jahrhundert''. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1970 * Elio C. Brancaforte: ''Visions of Persia : mapping the travels of Adam Olearius.'' Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2003. * F. Prinz: ''Von den Historien fremder Völker: des Adam Olearius Gesandtschaftsreisen durch Russland und Persien". In: ''Damals''. Band 24, 1994, S. 850-866 * Karl Rauch: ''Seidenstraße über Moskau : die große Reise von Adam Olearius nach Moskau und Isphahan zwischen 1633 und 1639.'' Pfeiffer, München 1960 *
Gerhard Dünnhaupt Gerhard Dünnhaupt, FRSC (born August 15, 1927 in Bernburg (Saale)) is a German bibliographer, literary historian, emeritus professor of the University of Michigan, an honorary life member of the Modern Language Association of America, Elected Fe ...
: "Adam Olearius (1599–1671)", in: ''Personalbibliographien zu den Drucken des Barock'', Bd. 4. Stuttgart: Hiersemann 1991, S. 2979-3004. *
Ersch Johann Samuel Ersch (23 June 1766 – 16 January 1828) was a German bibliographer, generally regarded as the founder of German bibliography. Biography He was born in Großglogau (now Głogów), in Silesia. In 1785 he entered the University of H ...
-
Gruber __NOTOC__ Gruber is a German surname from Austria and Bavaria, referring to a person from a geological depression, mine, or pit. It is the most common surname in Austria (see List of most common surnames). Places * Gruber Mountains, Antarctica * ...
: '' Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste''. Verlag F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1832, 3. Sektion, 3. Teil, S. 37
Online


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olearius, Adam 1603 births 1671 deaths People from Aschersleben German diplomats German librarians 17th-century German mathematicians German translators People from the Duchy of Holstein Leipzig University alumni Writers about Russia Historians of Iran German male non-fiction writers 17th-century translators Ambassadors to the Tsardom of Russia Ambassadors to Safavid Iran