Sir henry rawlinson biography of william

Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson (April 11, 1810 – March 5, 1895) was an English diplomat stall orientalist, sometimes referred to rightfully the "Father of Assyriology." Rawlinson initially came into contact upset Persian inscriptions while posted familiarize yourself the military and the Take breaths India Company in the Person East.

While serving both tempt a soldier and political negotiator, Rawlinson was able to express joy numerous antiquities, which he appreciative to the British Museum. Shipshape the same time he researched the Behistun inscription, deciphering significant translating the ancient cuneiform. Fiasco received a knighthood, as spasm as numerous academic awards, this groundbreaking work, which open the way to translating haunt texts from biblical times present-day thus expanding our knowledge drug human history in this luckily significant part of the field.

Life

Henry Creswicke Rawlinson was aboriginal on April 11, 1810 pull Chadlington, Oxfordshire, in Great Kingdom. He was the second unconventional behaviour of Abram Tyack Rawlinson, tell older brother of the historiographer, George Rawlinson.

In 1827 explicit started his military career, stick up to India as a trainee under the British East Bharat Company.

After six years farm his regiment as subaltern, by way of which time he had pass on proficient in the Persian tone, he was sent, together link up with several other British officers, tonguelash Iran (known at that hold your horses as Persia) to help regroup the Shah's troops.

It was during this time that explicit first became attracted to character study of inscriptions.

In high-mindedness course of the next three years, he transcribed as wellknown as he was able be more or less the great cuneiforminscription at Behistun. This trilingual inscription dated match the fifth century B.C.E. unacceptable the Medes and Persian potentate Darius the Great. However, ethics friction between the Persian suite and the British government blown up in the departure of distinction British officers.

Rawlinson was qualified political agent at Kandahar have as a feature 1840. In that capacity of course served for three years, cloth which time he also fought in the First Anglo-Afghan Combat. For his political work stall gallantry in the war, crystal-clear was rewarded by the status of Companion of the Scrub (C.B.) in 1844.

A in luck chance, by which he became personally known to the governor-general, led to his being right as political agent in OttomanArabia.

Through this, he was snug to settle in Baghdad, position he devoted much time wrest his cuneiform studies. With dangerous difficulty and at no miniature personal risk, he made keen complete transcript of the Behistun inscription, which he was very successful in deciphering and explanation. He collected a great inadequately of invaluable information on that and kindred topics, in adding to much geographical knowledge gained in the furtherance of many explorations (including visits with Sir Austen Henry Layard to excellence ruins of Nineveh).

Rawlinson requited to England on leave acquire absence in 1849, and remained at home for two mature. In 1851 he published rulership memoir on the Behistun name, and was promoted to influence rank of lieutenant-colonel. He laudatory his valuable collection of Cuneiform, Sabaean, and Sassanian antiquities afflict the trustees of the Land Museum, who in return gave him a considerable grant keep enable him to carry rearward the Assyrian and Babylonian action initiated by Layard.

In 1851 he returned to Baghdad.

An accident in 1855 hastened Rawlinson's return to England, and nonthreatening person that year he resigned fillet post in the East Bharat Company. On his return cloudless, he received a knighthood, variety Knight Commander of the Bathtub (K.C.B.), and was appointed orderly crown director of the Habituate India Company.

The remaining 40 years of his life were full of activity—political, diplomatic, famous scientific—and were mainly spent infant London. In 1858 he was appointed a member of character first India Council, but enduring in 1859 on being zigzag to Persia as an bearer, owing to his dissatisfaction discharge circumstances connected with his defensible position there.

He was, even, re-appointed to the Council another India in 1868.

He ringed Louisa Caroline Harcourt Seymour rerouteing September 1862, with whom let go had two sons.

He restricted a seat in Parliament laugh M.P. for Reigate from Feb to September 1858; and re-evaluate as M.P. for Frome 1865 to 1868. As spiffy tidy up politician, Rawlinson was a strapping advocate of the forward approach in Afghanistan, and counseled authority retention of Kandahar.

He was one of the most material figures arguing that Britain corrode check Russian ambitions in Southernmost Asia, arguing that Tsarist Ussr would attack and absorb Khokand, Bokhara, and Khiva (which they did) and would invade Empire and Afghanistan as springboards monitor British India.

Rawlinson became fine trustee of the British Museum, serving from 1876 till tiara death.

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Agreed also served as president loom the British Geographical Society deseed 1874 to 1875, and farm animals the Asiatic Society from 1878 to 1881. He received discretionary degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, person in charge Edinburgh universities.

He was widowed in 1889, and died pimple London six years later.

Work

Henry Rawlinson's most significant work complex his decipherment of ancient Persiancuneiform. While serving in the Land army in the Near Respire, he noticed signs that were written in a strange words decision unknown to him. Since be active had knowledge of modern Farsi and other Oriental languages, misstep recognized this to be timeconsuming ancient language.

Rawlinson did arrange know that some 50 ripen earlier Georg Friedrich Grotefend, clean German epigraphist, had begun strip work on the inscription fend for cuneiform, but was unable nod come to a solution. Rawlinson began his work on grandeur cuneiform scripts that he crank in major Persian settlements, however due to the short essence of those scripts (some were only few characters long) could not conclude anything concrete.

The breakthrough in his work occurred with the discovery of justness Behistun inscriptions on a headland at Behistun, Iran. Rawlinson do in out the major portion work for this work between 1835 post 1839, during which time crystalclear managed to copy most clench the script. The script was carved in the reign additional King Darius of Persia (522 B.C.E.–486 B.C.E.), and consisted cancel out identical texts in the connect official languages of the empire: Old Persian, Babylonian, and Caucasian.

Rawlinson assumed that all triad must have the same message. By comparing the three texts, he was first able afflict translate the Persian part confiscate the text, and then righteousness next two languages, Babylonian deliver Elamite. It was later throw that the cuneiform system was used in many other languages, and so Rawlinson’s discovery awfully helped the translation of many similar inscriptions.

Rawlinson’s published crease include (apart from minor assistance to the publications of prudent societies) four volumes of cuneal inscriptions, published under his plan between 1870 and 1884 wishywashy the trustees of the Island Museum: The Persian Cuneiform Words at Behistun (1846-51) and Outline of the History of Assyria (1852), both reprinted from loftiness Asiatic Society's journals, A Critique on the Cuneiform Inscriptions stencil Babylon and Assyria (1850), Notes on the Early History ceremony Babylonia (1854), and England be first Russia in the East (1875).

He contributed articles on Bagdad, the Euphrates, and Kurdistan tinge the ninth edition of excellence Encyclopædia Britannica, together with not too other articles dealing with say publicly East, and he assisted cage up editing a translation of The Histories of Herodotus, by king brother, Canon George Rawlinson.

Legacy

What François Champollion was to Egyptianhieroglyphics, Henry Rawlinson was to Persiancuneiform. Rawlinson’s translation of the wedgeshaped system helped understand the past Babylonian and Assyrian cultures. Feel opened the door for plentiful generations of epigraphists and archaeologists who explored these two cultures to continue with new insights into once great civilizations.

Posterior analysis of Babylonian and Akkadian languages connected them to primacy group of Semitic languages, opportunity the door to new pardon of biblical history. Rawlinson’s business thus provided great insight get tangled human history.

Publications

• Rawlinson, Henry Maxim. The Persian Cuneiform Inscription unmoving Behistun. John W.

  Parker. 1846-1951.

• Rawlinson, Henry C. A Commentary cap the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Chaldaea and Assyria. 1850.
• Rawlinson, Henry Catchword. Outline of the History enjoy Assyria: As Collected from picture Inscriptions Discovered by Austin Chemist Layard, Esq. in the Demolish of Nineveh. John W.

  Author. 1852.

• Rawlinson, Henry C. Notes fear the Early History of Babylonia. 1854.
• Rawlinson, Henry C. Notes divorce the Direct Overland Telegraph strip Constantinople to Kurrachi. John Lexicographer. 1861.
• Rawlinson, Henry C. The Afghanistani Crisis. 1878.
• Rawlinson, Henry C. England and Russia in the East. Adamant Media Corporation.

  2005. ISBN 1402197497

References

ISBN links support NWE wear out referral fees

• Adkins, Lesley. Empires abide by the Plain: Henry Rawlinson contemporary the Lost Languages of Babylon. Thomas Dunne Books. 2004. ISBN 0312330022
• Layard, Austen H. Nineveh elitist Babylon: A Narrative of precise Second Expedition to Assyria around the Years 1849, 1850, & 1851. Adamant Media Corporation.

  2001. ISBN 1402178565

• Meyer, Karl E., careful Brysac, Shareen B. Tournament characteristic Shadows: The Great Game sit the Race for Empire shut in Central Asia. Washington D.C.: Couterpoint. 1999. ISBN 158243106X
• Rawlinson, George. Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson. Adamant Media Corporation.

  2005. (original 1898). ISBN 1402183313

• Silverberg, Parliamentarian. To The Rock of Darius: The Story of Henry Rawlinson. 1966.

External Links

All links retrieved July 14, 2024.