Review – Charles Genequand: Max van Berchem, un orientaliste

Estelle Sohier, University of Geneva

Estelle Sohier reviews Charles Genequand’s book, which examines the biography of Max van Berchem (1863-1921). Just 100 years ago, Max van Berchem (1863-1921) died of illness and exhaustion, days before his 58th birthday.  This man known by only few in Geneva today, is the founding scholar of Arabic epigraphy, in other words the study of inscriptions in Arabic. This text reviews the life of a man who described himself as an orientalist, showing his attachment to a field of study that no longer exists as such today.

 

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