Ekrem Akurgal (March 30, 1911 – November 1, 2002) was a Turkish archaeologist. During a career that spanned more than fifty years, he conducted definitive research in several sites along the western coast of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

such as

Phokaia Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in F ...

(

Foça Foça is a town and district in Turkey's İzmir Province, on the Aegean coast. The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center. The district also has a township with its own municipality named Yenifoça (literally ''"Ne ...

), Pitane (

Çandarlı Çandarlı is a coastal township with own municipality within the district of Dikili in western Turkey's İzmir Province. It is a well-developed town and an important tourist resort. It is a fishing village, were a lot of daily life revolves ar ...

Erythrai Erythrae or Erythrai ( el, Ἐρυθραί) later Litri, was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, situated 22 km north-east of the port of Cyssus (modern name: Çeşme), on a small peninsula stretching into the Bay of Erythrae ...

( Ildırı) and old

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

( Bayraklı höyük, the original site of the city of Smyrna before the city's move to another spot across the

Gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir ( tr, İzmir Körfezi), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent ancho ...

Biography

He was born on March 30, 1911 in the town of

Tulkarm Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities o ...

in the Beirut Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

(today a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

city in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

), where his mother's family owned a large farm. He descended from a family of Ottoman intellectuals and religious men, several of whose members had assumed the office of

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

, the highest title of the Islamic

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in a given region, for the Ottoman province of Herzegovina. His family moved back to

İstanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

when he was two years old. For some time, they resided in another family farm, this time near

Akyazı Akyazı is a town and district of Sakarya Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The mayor is Bilal Soykan ( AK PARTI). Electrocution incident On 23 June 2017, five people died of electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury ...

. He received his first education from his father's sister and her husband, who taught literature in ''Darülfünun'' ( Istanbul University today). Akurgal graduated in 1931 from Istanbul High School for Boys and, having earned a state scholarship, went to the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to study archaeology. In a

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

made in 1990, the interviewer was to remark that, now and then, his

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

was still unmistakably tainted with

Berlinerisch Berlin German, or Berlin dialect ( High German: ''Berliner Dialekt'', ''Berliner Mundart'', ''Berlinerisch'' or ''Berlinisch''; derogative: ''Berliner Schnauze'', ), is the dialect spoken in the city of Berlin as well as its surrounding metro ...

. In 1957, he became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

University of Ankara Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

. He worked mainly in the Aegean Region, starting the researches on Phokaia (

), Pitane (

), Erythrai ( Ildırı) and old Smyrna ( Bayraklı tumulus). He published numerous books on

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

, Hittite and other ancient civilizations of

. Settled in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

since the seventies to pursue his work on the nearby sites with more effectiveness, Akurgal died on November 1, 2002 in

. His work and legacy is being carried on by his wife, Meral Akurgal, an accomplished archaeologist herself and his closest assistant in his lifetime.

Awards

* 1961

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Bordeaux University, France * 1972 GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 5 GrVK Stern

German Great Cross of Merit with star * 1981 German

Goethe Medal The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". It is an offici ...

* 1981 Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture Gran Award * 1986 Premio Internazionale "I Cavalli d'Oro di San Marco", Italy * 1987 Commendatore OMRI BAR

Italian Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Republic * 1987 Legion Honneur Officier ribbon

French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Officier * 1989 Honorary Doctorate

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

, Greece * 1990 Honorary Doctorate University of Lecce, Italy * 1990 Honorary Doctorate

Anadolu University Anadolu University ( tr, Anadolu Üniversitesi) is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey. The university is known for its success in verbal fields such as history and communication. Its Faculty of Communication Sciences is sometimes considered ...

, Turkey

Bibliography

* Cyril Mango, Ekrem Akurgal, and Richard Ettinghausen. The Treasures of Turkey: The earliest civilizations of Anatolia Byzantium the Islamic Period. (1966), Editions d'Art Albert Skira, Geneva, 253 pp. *

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akurgal, Ekrem 1911 births 2002 deaths People from Tulkarm People from Beirut vilayet Turkish people of Bosniak descent Turkish scientists Turkish archaeologists Istanbul High School alumni Berlin University of the Arts alumni Ankara University faculty Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Lincean Academy METU Mustafa Parlar Foundation Science Award winners Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences 20th-century archaeologists Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy

Biography

Awards

Bibliography

Notes

See also

External links