Reuben Levy (28 April 1891 – 6 September 1966) was Professor of Persian at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, who wrote on Persian literature and Islamic history.

Life

Levy was educated at the

Friars School, Bangor Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A fria ...

, the

University College of North Wales, Bangor , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, studying Persian, Turkish and the Semitic languages. His First persian teacher was

Isa Sedigh Isa Sedigh ( fa, عیسی صدیق, also known as Sedigh Alam or Sadiq Aʿlam, "the knowledgeable Sadiq"; 1894–1978) was minister of education in Iran, and the third president of the University of Tehran. Early life and education Isa Sedigh was ...

. During the First World War, he was a captain in General Staff Intelligence in Mesopotamia (1916 to 1918), and worked in the Iraq Political Service (1918 to 1920). He lectured in Persian at Oxford from 1920 to 1923 before living in the United States from 1923 to 1926. He moved to the

in 1926 as Lecturer in Persian, and became Professor of Persian in 1950, the chair being created for him. He was also a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Christ's College, Cambridge. During the Second World War, he was a

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

in RAF Intelligence.

Works

His first book, ''Persian Literature'' (1923), was written when he was still a lecturer at Oxford. ''A Baghdad Chronicle'' (1929) was an account of the Muslim Middle Ages and Abbasid Caliphate. It led to his major work, ''The Sociology of Islam'' (2 volumes, 1931–33) (reissued in 1957 as ''The Social Structure of Islam''), which was regarded as a new approach to Muslim history. He also produced translations and critical editions of texts, including the 11th century Persian text Qabus nama (''A Mirror for Princes'', 1951), ''The Tales of Marzuban'' (1959) and ''The Shah-nama'' (1966).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Reuben 1891 births 1966 deaths People educated at Friars School, Bangor Alumni of Bangor University Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge Translators from Persian 20th-century translators Place of birth missing Place of death missing British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II