JACOB, Georg. Königsberg 26.5.1862 — Kiel 4.7.1937. German Oriental (Arabic and Turkish) scholar also interested in India. Lost early his father and was raised by his mother, Julie Therese Jacob (née Rossbach). After gymnasium in Königsberg he started as a student of theology, but soon turned into Oriental philology. Studies at Leipzig (Fleischer), Strassburg (Nöldeke), Breslau, Erlangen (Spiegel), Berlin, and again Leipzig. Ph.D. 1887 Leipzig. PD 1892 Greifswald, 1896 moved to Halle. In 1901-09 ao. and 1909-11 ord. Professor of Semitic Languages at Erlangen. In 1911-29 ord. Professor für islamische und semitische Philologie at Kiel. Unmarried.

Jacob began with Arabic geography and became the founder of German Turkology, but was also interested in Iran and India and knew Sanskrit. He made important studies on shadow plays. Himself he never went further east than Turkey (where he first observed shadow theatre in 189?). The origin of shadow theatre he located in China and South-East Asia and tried to trace its spreading to India, Iran and the Near East and finally to Europe. In his 1924 book he tried to deny almost all classical influence in German culture and derived much from the east.

Publications: Diss. Der nordisch-baltische Handel der Araber im Mittelalter. 152 p. Lp. 1887, rev. ed. 1891; works on Arabia (e.g. Studien in arabischen Geographen. 1-4. B. 1891-92; Studien in arabischen Dichtern. 1-4. 1893-97), Turkey, Iran, etc.

– Der Einfluss des Morgenlandes auf das Abendland vornehmlich während des Mittelalters. 98 p. Hannover 1924.

– Geschichte des Schattentheaters im Morgen- und Abendland. 8+159 p. B. 1907, enl. 2nd ed. 11+284 p. Hannover 1925; “Die Entdeckung des südindischen Schattentheaters durch Prof. Spies”, ZDMG 89, 1935, 387-390.

– Translated in German: Subhaṭa, Dūtāṅgada. 45 p. Lp. 1931.

– With H. Jensen & H. Losch: Das indische Schattentheater. 64 p. Das orientalische Schattentheater 2. St. 1931; with H. Jensen: Das chinesische Schattentheater. 15+130 p. Das or. Sch. 3. St. 1933; further similar studies, also on Western theatre.

– Iskenders Warägerfeldzug, ein iranischer Heldensang des Mittelalters aus Nizâmî’s Iskendernâme. 49 p. Glückstadt 1934.

Sources: Fück 319-322; E. Littmann, ZDMG 91, 1937, 486-500; Th. Menzel (ed.), Fs. G.J. zum 70. Geburtstag. Lp. 1932, with an account of Jacob as a scholar by C.H. Becker (1-8), photo, bibliography by Menzel (369-381); Kieler Gelehrtenverzeichnis (online); German Wikipedia; https://cau.gelehrtenverzeichnis.de.

*A. van Tongerloo & M. Knüppel, “Einige Briefe von Georg Jacob (1862-1937) an Willi Bang Kaup (1869-1934)”, AO 75, 2014, 59-72.