Fritz Hommel (31 July 1854 – 17 April 1936) was a German Orientalist.

Biography

Hommel was born on 31 July 1854 in Ansbach. He studied in Leipzig and was habilitated in 1877 in Munich, where in 1885, he became an extraordinary professor of Semitic languages. He became a full professor in 1892, and after his retirement in 1925, continued to give lectures at the University of Munich. He was the doctoral supervisor of Muhammad Iqbal, who wrote the thesis The Development of Metaphysics in Persia under his supervision. He was intrigued by linguistical problems, and also interested in the history of the Middle East and its connection with culture and intellectual life. He excelled in studies of cuneiform literature, ancient Arabic poetry, old Turkic inscriptions and Egyptian pyramid texts. He died on 17 April 1936 aged 81 in Munich.

Works

Among his better written efforts were a history of Babylonia and Assyria, Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens (1885) and a highly regarded work on the geography and history of the ancient Near East, titled: Grundriss der Geographie und Geschichte des Alten Orients (1904). Other significant writings by Hommel include:

Citations