Hartwig Derenbourg

Hartwig Derenbourg was a French Orientalist. He held the position of Chair of Islamism and the religions of Arabia in the École des Hautes Études in Paris.

Biography

Derenbourg was born in Paris where he studied Hebrew, Arabic, and other Semitic languages as a pupil of Joseph Toussaint Reinaud, Salomon Ulmann and his father, orientalist Joseph Derenbourg. He furthered his education at Göttingen as a student of Ferdinand Wüstenfeld, Heinrich Ewald and Ernst Bertheau, and at the University of Leipzig under Christoph Krehl and Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer. After receiving his degree, he worked at the Bibliothèque Impériale, where he continued preparation of the catalogue of Arabic manuscripts until 1870. From 1875 he taught classes in Arabic grammar at the École spéciale des langues orientales, attaining the chair of Arabic literature in 1879. In 1885 he was named professor of Islamism and of the religions of Arabia at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris. He died in Paris, aged 64.

Published works

Derenbourg produced a number of important translations of Arabic texts. Among these are the following:'; French-Hebrew translation from the Arabic version of the Proverbs of Saadia ben Joseph al-Fayyoûmî in collaboration with his father Joseph Derenbourg and Mayer Lambert.

'; poetry of al-Nābighah al-Dhubyānī ; ' ; transl. from German to French by Derenbourg and Soury
'; the great grammatical treatise known as "Al-Kitāb", or The Book of Sibawayh ;.Les manuscrits arabes de l’Escurial Chrestomathie élémentaire de l'Arabe littéral ', The works of Jonah ibn Janah ; Introduction, Kitab al-moustalhik, Risâlat at-tanbih, Risâlat at-takrib wat-tashil and Kitâb at-taswiya.
'; *Ousama ibn Mounkidh, preface du livre du baton Ousama ibn Mounkidh, un emir Syrien au premier siècle des croisades ;. In 1880 Derenbourg had discovered the only known manuscript of the Kitāb al-i'tibār by the poet-envoy Usāma ibn Munqidh.' by the historian Ibn al-Tiqtaqa ;
'; biography and works of the Yemeni poet ʻUmārah ibn ʻAlī al-Ḥakamī ;