Siegbert Uhlig | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | German |
Occupation | Academic |
Awards | Edward Ullendorff Medal, The British Academy (2016) |
Academic background | |
Education | Theological Studies Ph.D., Protestant Theology Ph.D., Oriental Studies Habilitation, Ethiopian Studies |
Alma mater | Friedensau Theological Seminary University of Rostock University of Hamburg |
Thesis | 1. August Wilhelm Dieckhoffs Stellungnahme zu kirchenpolitischen und theologischen Streitfragen seiner Zeit unter dem Aspekt seiner reformationsgeschichtlichen Forschungen 2. Hiob Ludolfs Theologia Aethiopica 3. Äthiopische Paläographie (Habilitation) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Hamburg |
Siegbert Uhlig is a German academic. He is emeritus professor at the University of Hamburg. [1]
Uhlig is most known for his contributions to the field of Ethiopian Studies,primarily through his work on the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. He developed the project,took over the scientific management of the encyclopedia,and published it. [2] His research encompasses Ethiopian paleography,the publication of Ethiopian text editions of biblical books,and the edition of the Ethiopian Enoch in German language. [3] He founded the journal Aethiopica,serving as a platform for scholarly discussions in the field. [4] Furthermore,he founded the German-Ethiopian Foundation,supporting Ethiopian studies research and young academics in the field. [5] Uhlig has been married to Waltraud (née Lippert) since 1962 and has two sons:Dr. Hilmar Uhlig (1963) and Dr. Sven Uhlig (1966).
Uhlig pursued Theological Studies at the Friedensau Theological Seminary from 1957 to 1961. In 1969,he earned his Ph.D. in Protestant Theology from the University of Rostock,presenting a thesis on A.W. Dieckhoff's statement on church political and theological disputes of his time. In 1980,he obtained his second doctorate in Oriental Studies from the University of Hamburg. In 1985,he completed his habilitation in Ethiopian Studies at the University of Hamburg with research on Ethiopian paleography. [1]
From 1961 to 1976,Uhlig was pastor of a Protestant Free Church (Adventist Church). Between 1980 and 1985,he worked on a research project of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft,focusing on Ethiopian paleography. From 1985 to 1990,Uhlig served as a fellow at the Research Center for Historische Palästinakunde at the University of Osnabrück. During this period,he was also appointed as an associate professor (Außerplanmäßiger Professor) at the same university. In 1990,the University of Hamburg appointed him as a full professor of African Studies with a focus on Ethiopian Studies. He held this position until his retirement in 2004. In 1998,Uhlig founded the journal Aethiopica:International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies,and in 2002,he established the Research Center for Ethiopian Studies at the University of Hamburg,now known as the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies. [6] From 1994 to 2009,he served as the editor of the monograph series Aethiopistische Forschungen. Furthermore,between 1994 and 2010 [2014),he developed the project and acted as the scientific director and general editor of the international project Encyclopaedia Aethiopica . [2]
In 1999,Uhlig established the German-Ethiopian Foundation to promote research in Ethiopian studies and support emerging scholars. [5] Financed by private funds and the German-Ethiopian Foundation,Uhlig established the Hiob Ludolf Visiting Professorship in 2003/04,which deals with topics from politics,business and society. [7]
Uhlig's main work is the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica,which he worked on for around 20 years and edited four out of five volumes. It scientific encyclopaedia provides with 4365 articles on Ethiopia and the neighbouring regions;it covers topics from history,languages,literature,ethnology,religion,culture,society and art. [2]
Uhlig's 1988 work Äthiopische Paläographie provides basic research for the chronological classification of Ethiopian manuscripts;a condensed version of which was used in the Introduction to Ethiopian Palaeography (1990). [8]
Uhlig also edited an illustrated volume David Appleyard and others in 2017,titled Ethiopia:History,Culture,and Challenges. The book delves into various facets of Ethiopia,encompassing geography,history,cultures,religions,society,politics,contemporary developments,and major challenges. [9] A German edition of the book,titled Äthiopien –Geschichte,Kultur,Herausforderungen (2018),has also been published. [10]
In collaboration with Gernot Bühring,Uhlig has jointly published and provided commentary on a rare early work concerning Ethiopian history in 1994,Damian de Góis' work on the faith and customs of the Ethiopians dating back to the year 1540. [11]
After the death of the bibliographer Lockot,Uhlig collaborated with Verena Böll to edit and publish his bibliography titled Bibliographia Aethiopica II (1998). [12]
Uhlig has primarily contributed foundational works to the field of Ethiopian Studies. At the beginning of his career,palaeographic and codicological investigations were at the forefront of his research interests,later shifting to a focus on textual-critical contributions. Throughout each phase of his research,he focused on the transitional period from pre-scientific Ethiopian studies to the establishment of scientific Ethiopian Studies,such as the works of Damian de Góis and Ludolf. [11]
The focus of Uhlig's work lies in providing essential working materials in the field of Ethiopian studies,such as the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. [5]
Amharas are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa,traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia,particularly inhabiting the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census,Amharas numbered 19,867,817 individuals,comprising 26.9% of Ethiopia's population,and they are mostly Oriental Orthodox Christian.
Harar,known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey,is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saints.
Hiob or Job Ludolf,also known as Job Leutholf,was a German orientalist,born at Erfurt. Edward Ullendorff rates Ludolf as having "the most illustrious name in Ethiopic scholarship".
Iyasu I,throne name Adyam Sagad,also known as Iyasu the Great,was Emperor of Ethiopia from 19 July 1682 until his death in 1706,and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.
Yemrehana Krestos was the third king of the Zagwe dynasty,ruling during the second half of the twelfth century. His biography is recorded in the GädläYəmrəḥannäKrəstos.
Shanqella is an exonym for a number of Nilotic ethnic groups that lived in the westernmost part of Ethiopia,but are known to have also inhabited more northerly areas until the late nineteenth century. A pejorative,the term was traditionally used by the local Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations to refer in general terms to darker-skinned ethnic groups,particularly to those from communities speaking Nilo-Saharan languages of Western Ethiopia. These were regarded as primitive people and slave reserves by the Abyssinians.
AbbaBahrey was a late 16th-century Ethiopian monk,historian,and ethnographer,from the southern region of Gamo. He is best known for his 1593 work on the history of the Oromo and their migrations in the 16th century,the "History of the Galla". This short work is the source that Manuel de Almeida borrowed heavily from in writing his history of Ethiopia,and Hiob Ludolf derived much of his information on the Oromo from Baltazar Téllez's abridgment of Almeida's work.
Debre Libanos of Ham is the second-oldest monastery in Eritrea after Debre Sinia. It is part of the Eritrean Orthodox Church. It is a strict monastery,where the monks are expected to plow the fields. This monastery should not be confused with the DäbräLibanos monastery of Ethiopia.
The Encyclopaedia Aethiopica (EAe) is a basic English-language encyclopaedia for Ethiopian and Eritrean studies. The Encyclopaedia Aethiopica provides information in all fields of the discipline,i.e. anthropology,archaeology,ethnology,history,geography,languages and literatures,art,religion,culture and basic data. Although the main audience is academic,most articles are readable also for non-specialists. The EAe is illustrated with maps and photographs. It employs an in-house form of romanization of Geʽez,Amharic,and other languages,which varies greatly from standard formats,such as BGN/PCGN:the emperor Menelek II's name,for example,is written as "Mənilək II". Nevertheless,the EAe romanization scheme is used extensively throughout modern Ethiopic scholarship.
Ethiopian studies or Ethiopian and Eritrean studies refers to a multidisciplinary academic cluster dedicated to research on Ethiopia and Eritrea within the cultural and historical context of the Horn of Africa.
A horse name is a secondary noble title or a popular name for members of Ethiopian royalty;in some cases the "horse names" are the only name known for a ruler. They take the form of "father of X",where "X" is the name of the person's warhorse.
The Siltʼe people are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. They inhabit the Siltʼe Zone which is part of the Southern Nations,Nationalities and Peoples Region. Silt'e people speak the Siltʼe language,a Semitic language,which is closely related to the Harari language.
David Appleyard is a British academic and an specialist in Ethiopian languages and linguistics.
Semien Province was a historical province of northwest Ethiopia. According to Manoel De Almeida Semien was bordered on the north-east and north by Tigray and Tselemt,on the east and south by Abergele,and on the west by Wegera. Alexander Murray include Wag as part of Semien.
Abba Gorgoryos was an Ethiopian priest from Amhara tribe and lexicographer of noble origin. He is famous for co-authoring encyclopedias with his friend and companion Hiob Ludolf in two Ethiopian languages,Amharic and Ge'ez,both in Ge'ez script.
Ethiopian literature dates from Ancient Ethiopian literature up until modern Ethiopian literature. Ancient Ethiopian literature starts with Axumite texts written in the Geʽez language using the Geʽez script,indigenous to both Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Alessandro Bausi is an Italian philologist working on Ethiopic texts and manuscripts.
The Institute of Ethiopian Studies(IES) was officially established in 1963 to collect information on Ethiopian civilization,its history,cultures,and languages. The Institute includes a research and publication unit,a library,and a museum. It is located at Addis Ababa University,Sidist (6) Kilo campus,which was at the time of the IES's opening,named Haile Selassie I University after the last emperor of Abyssinia.
Ernst Eduard Maria Hammerschmidt was a scholar of Ethiopia as well as Ethiopian Christianity. From 1970 to 1990 he was professor for African languages and cultures at the University of Hamburg,specializing in Ethiopian studies:history,culture,religion,and classical Ethiopic literature. He also spent much of his life as a priest in the Old Catholic Church of Austria,and served as coadjutor bishop from 1991 to 1993.
Stuart Christopher Munro-Hay was a British archaeologist,numismatist and Ethiopianist. He studied the culture and history of ancient Ethiopia,the Horn of Africa region and South Arabia,particularly their history of coins.