Oluf Gerhard Tychsen
Encyclopedia
Oluf Gerhard Tychsen (December 14, 1734, Tondern, Denmark – December 30, 1815, Rostock, Germany) was a German Orientalist
and Hebrew
scholar. He is known today as one of the founding fathers of Islamic numismatics
.
As a Protestant Christian, he attended secondary school in Altona
and the Rabbinic school attached to the Altona synagogue
. From 1756 he studied Oriental languages at the University of Halle.
He spent a year of missionary work towards the conversion of Jews, and then taught Hebrew in the newly founded University of Bützow. He held librarian and academic positions in Bützow
. There he founded the Journal Buetzower Nebenstunden, which comprised a broad variety of articles about the Old Testament and Oriental Culture, especially material culture, such as Islamic coins.
From 1778 he taught at the University of Rostock
. He worked in different fields of Oriental studies, Arabic, Syriac, and Hebrew. His Introduction into Islamic Numismatics, in 1794, was the first scientific handbook on this topic, based on twenty-seven years of research. Among his students were Christian Martin Frähn
, later professor in Kazan and later founder of the Asiatic Museum in Saint Petersburg
, and Christian Adler, who wrote the first scientific catalogue of a collection of Islamic coins and later became superintendent of Schleswig-Holstein. He was a prolific author who published some forty volumes of scholarly studies during his academic career. An interesting note is that he received rabbinic ordination. It is the only known case of it given to a non-Jew.
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
scholar. He is known today as one of the founding fathers of Islamic numismatics
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
.
As a Protestant Christian, he attended secondary school in Altona
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
and the Rabbinic school attached to the Altona synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. From 1756 he studied Oriental languages at the University of Halle.
He spent a year of missionary work towards the conversion of Jews, and then taught Hebrew in the newly founded University of Bützow. He held librarian and academic positions in Bützow
Bützow
Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany, with a population of 8,122 .The town was first mentioned in 1171....
. There he founded the Journal Buetzower Nebenstunden, which comprised a broad variety of articles about the Old Testament and Oriental Culture, especially material culture, such as Islamic coins.
From 1778 he taught at the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
. He worked in different fields of Oriental studies, Arabic, Syriac, and Hebrew. His Introduction into Islamic Numismatics, in 1794, was the first scientific handbook on this topic, based on twenty-seven years of research. Among his students were Christian Martin Frähn
Christian Martin Frahn
Christian Martin Joachim Frähn , German and Russian numismatist and historian, was born at Rostock, Mecklenburg-Schwerin....
, later professor in Kazan and later founder of the Asiatic Museum in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, and Christian Adler, who wrote the first scientific catalogue of a collection of Islamic coins and later became superintendent of Schleswig-Holstein. He was a prolific author who published some forty volumes of scholarly studies during his academic career. An interesting note is that he received rabbinic ordination. It is the only known case of it given to a non-Jew.