Amaury de Riencourt (born 12 June 1918 in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

; died 13 January 2005 at

Bellevue, Switzerland Bellevue is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History The village of Colovrex is first mentioned in 1257 as ''Colovray''. In 1855, the municipality of Bellevue separated from the municipality of Collex-Bossy

) was a writer and

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 st ...

. He was an expert on Southeast Asia, an Indian scholar, Sinologist,

Tibetologist Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...

and Americanist. K. Natwar Singh
Forgotten Prophet
Outlook India Amaury de Riencourt was born in Orléans into a family of the French nobility which dates back at least to the 12th century. He graduated from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris and held a Master's degree from the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers (Arabic:جامعة الجزائر – بن يوسف بن خـدة ), commonly called the Algiers 1 University, is a public research university located in Algiers, Algeria. It is the oldest and most prestigious universi ...

.Alain Joly
Amaury de Riencourt
/ref> De Riencourt served in the French Navy during the earlier part of the Second World War (1939–40). In 1947, he visited

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

, staying in Lhasa, where he remained for five months. He met the Dalai Lama, who declared that the country was governed in all areas as an independent nation, adding that the orders of his government were obeyed across the country.
The Political Philosophy of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, Selected Speeches and Writings
', 1998, Édité par A.A. Shiromany, Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre, dalaï-lama, lettre au Secrétaire général de l'ONU datée du 9 septembre 1959. De Riencourt's magnum opus was probably ''The Coming Caesars'' 957 which explores the ethnic and ideological roots of America, Europe and Russia, comparing also classical times with the contemporary world (19th-20th centuries). He also wrote a number of other books (all written in English), including ''The American Empire''; ''Lost World: Tibet''; ''The Eye of Shiva''; ''The Soul of China''; ''The Soul of India''; ''Woman and Power in History''; ''Sex and Power in History''; ''Roof of the World: Tibet'', and an autobiography entitled ''A Child of the Century.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riencourt, Amaury de 1918 births 2005 deaths French sinologists Writers from Orléans Tibetologists University of Paris alumni University of Algiers alumni French people of colonial Algeria