The Life of J. D. Åkerblad: Egyptian Decipherment and Orientalism in Revolutionary Times (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)

"Johan David Åkerblad (1763-1819) contributed to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic and is known as a predecessor of Jean-François Champollion. This intellectual biography offers a new and less heroic interpretation of the first reading of the Egyptian scripts. Åkerblad, an exceptional linguist, was a diplomat and orientalist who spent several decades living in the Ottoman Empire, France and Italy. Of humble birth, he was a supporter of the French Revolution - something that stymied his career. His life cannot be understood in a purely Swedish national framework, and this study firmly situates him as an international scholar. The book discusses European expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean during the tumultuous decades around the year 1800, and traces Åkerblad's momentous life in relation to the debates on 'orientalism', the tradition of classical studies and the history of science."--Back cover "Johan David Åkerblad (1763-1819) contributed to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic and is known as a predecessor of Jean-François Champollion. This intellectual biography offers a new and less heroic interpretation of the first reading of the Egyptian scripts. Åkerblad, an exceptional linguist, was a diplomat and orientalist who spent several decades living in the Ottoman Empire, France and Italy. Of humble birth, he was a supporter of the French Revolution - something that stymied his career. His life cannot be understood in a purely Swedish national framework, and this study firmly situates him as an international scholar. The book discusses European expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean during the tumultuous decades around the year 1800, and traces Åkerblad's momentous life in relation to the debates on 'orientalism', the tradition of classical studies and the history of science."--Back cover -- Preliminary Material -- Introduction 1. Family and Education 2. Constantinople-City of Rumours 3. Diplomacy and Intrigue 4. Travel in the East 5. War in Egypt 6. Mixing East and West 7. "The Sabre in One Hand and the Koran in the Other" 8. Return to Europe 9. To Constantinople and Back 10. "A Dangerous Man of Enlightenment" 11. The Roman Republic 1798-99 12. Final Year in Sweden 13. "I Am Alive Only in Paris" 14. Åkerblad's Rosetta Lettre 15. Geographic Competition 16. Egyptology and Orientalism 17. Book Thefts, Inkblots and French Expropriations 18. Antiquarian in Rome 19. Salons and Belle Amiche 20. Curses and Cabals 21. Oriental Rome 22. Archaeology and Art 23. French Defeat 24. Digging with the Duchess of Devonshire 25. "Despised by Sweden and by Every Swede" -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index -- Colour Plates This intellectual biography of Johan David Akerblad (1763-1819) presents a new account of the decipherment of ancient Egyptian. Oriental and classical studies and their entwinement in the turbulent politics of this age of Revolutions are presented from a novel perspective. This intellectual biography of Johan David Åkerblad (1763-1819) presents a new account of the decipherment of ancient Egyptian. Oriental and classical studies and their entwinement in the turbulent politics of this age of Revolutions are presented from a novel perspective Published version of EUI PhD thesis, 2009