James Henry Brasted ( Eng. James Henry Breasted ; August 27, 1865 , Rockford , Illinois - December 2, 1935 , New York ) - American archaeologist and historian who dealt with questions of Egyptology , as well as the influence of the civilizations of the Ancient Near East on the formation of the Western and Orthodox civilization. His works also touched upon other important aspects of the history of the Ancient East (in particular, he proposed the term " Fertile Crescent "). The main work "The history of Egypt from ancient times to the Persian conquest" ( A History of Egypt , 1905).
James henry brasted | |
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James Henry Breasted | |
James Bested in Chicago , 1928 | |
Date of Birth | August 27, 1865 |
Place of Birth | Rockford (Illinois) , United States |
Date of death | December 2, 1935 (70 years) |
Place of death | New York , USA |
A country | USA |
Scientific field | Egyptology |
Place of work | University of Chicago |
Alma mater | Yale University , Berlin University |
Academic degree | doctor |
Academic title | Professor |
supervisor | A. Erman |
Awards and prizes | Messenger Lectures (1924) |
Content
Biography
Initially, he worked in his hometown as a clerk at a pharmacy and in 1882 received a diploma of pharmacist. He received further education in the North Central College (1888) and the Theological Seminary of Chicago - where he studied his first Oriental language - Hebrew. Then he graduated from Yale University (1891), where he became interested in Egyptology, and at the suggestion of William Raine Harper went to Germany, where he continued his studies with the German historian Adolf Ehrmann at Berlin University (1892-1894).
In 1894 he received his doctorate in Egyptology, becoming the first US citizen with such. From the same year - Assistant and Lecturer at the Department of Egyptology , University of Chicago , where since 1905 - Professor of Egyptology and History of the East. In 1919, having beaten funding from Rockefeller, Jr. , he became the founder of the Eastern Institute The University of Chicago - the first institution in Egypt, specializing in Egyptology, soon turned into one of the world's leading centers of Orientalism .
In 1928, President of the American Historical Association. Member of the United States Academy of Sciences since 1923, corresponding member of the British Academy (1934) and the Berlin Academy of Sciences (13.06.1907) [1] .
He died of streptococcal pneumonia - in New York on the way from Egypt , buried in his hometown of Rockford. At the burial site was a monument in the form of a cube of Aswan granite, donated by the Government of Egypt.
Heritage
He was engaged both in desk historical and linguistic researches, and field archaeological research. Beginning in 1898, he participated in excavations in Egypt, in 1905-1907 he led a scientific expedition to Egypt and Nubia (Sudan). As director of the Eastern Institute, he organized new expeditions to Egypt (excavations in Luxor , including the temple of Ramses III in Medinet-Abu ), Palestine ( Megiddo ), Turkey, Iraq and Iran ( Persepolis ).
At the suggestion of the Royal Academies of Germany and their colleagues who worked on the compilation of the Berlin Dictionary of the Egyptian language , undertook to copy and systematize the ancient Egyptian inscriptions in museums in Europe. He himself initiated the creation of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary . Deciphered and published in 1930 the text of the papyrus by Edwin Smith .
The main essay "The history of Egypt from ancient times to the Persian conquest" (Ages of Conquest , 1905) still retains its value and is one of the main fundamental works, covering the entire history of ancient Egypt. He also wrote such works as the five-volume “Ancient Texts of Egypt: Historical Documents from Ancient Times to the Persian Conquest” ( Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest , v. 1-5, 1906-1907) , anthology of ancient history "Ancient Times" ( Ancient Times , 1916), "The Conquest of Civilization" ( The Conquest of Civilization , 1926), the monumental work "Surgical Papyrus by Edwin Smith" ( Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus , 1930) and "At the origin of consciousness "( The Dawn of Conscience , 1933). His Battle of Kadesh ( Battle of Kadesh , 1903) still retains its scientific value as a study of one of the first documented battles in human history.
List of Works
- From the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest . - New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905. (2nd ed., 1909).
- Russian edition: Brasted G. G. The history of Egypt from ancient times to the Persian conquest. - T. I — II. - M. , 1915.
- It was republished in Russian with the addition of B. A. Turayev's work “Egyptian Literature” in 2003, 2008.
- A history of the ancient Egyptians , James Breasted. - N. Y .: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908.
- Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times of the Conquest, collected, edited, and translated, with Commentary . - Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906–1907.
- Development of Religion and Religion in Egypt: Lectures delivered at the Morse Foundation at Union Theological Seminary . - N. Y .: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912.
- Ancient Times - A History of the World - Boston: The Athenæum Press, 1916.
- Survey of the Ancient World . - Boston: The Athenæum Press, 1919.
- Oriental Forerunners of Byzantine Painting (University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications; 1). - Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1924.
- The Conquest of Civilization. - N. Y .; L .: Harper and Brothers, 1926.
- The Dawn of Conscience. - N. Y .: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933.
- Ancient Times - A History of the World - Second Revised & Largely Rewritten. - Boston: The Athenæum Press, 1935.
Interesting Facts
- To some extent, the archaeologist can be considered one of the indirect creators of the legend of the " curse of the pharaohs ". It was precisely since the publication of Brested’s letter (December 22, 1922 in the New York Times ) about an unpleasant incident in Howard Carter’s house, when a living cobra bird ate a cobra, that the press had a bad omen for the excavators. Remarkably, he himself died only 13 years after the opening of the tomb at the age of 70, which does not prevent the "yellow" editions from referring to the "victims of the curse."
- Brasted's book At the Source of Consciousness (At the Dawn of Consciousness, The Dawn of Conscience , 1933) had a significant influence on Sigmund Freud 's work This Man is Moses .
- I read the first Messenger lectures in 1924.
Notes
Literature
- Brested, James Henry / O. Tomashevich // Greater Caucasus - the Grand Canal. - M .: The Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2006. - P. 260. - (The Great Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 t.] / Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004–2017, t. 4). - ISBN 5-85270-333-8 .
Links
- Bibliography (eng.)