ZIESENISS, Wilhelm Alexander. Börnsen bei Lauenburg 11.3.1899 — Breslau 11.4.1945. German Indologist and South-East Asian (Malay and Javanese) Scholar. Son of merchant Karl Hermann Z. and Mary Matthew (from Scotland). Matriculated in 1917 from Hansaschule in Bergedorf. Studied at Heidelberg Arabic (Bezold) and Sanskrit (Liebich), a brief period at Freiburg (Leumann), then at Hamburg (Schubring). Ph.D. 1928 Hamburg. Spent some time in further studies at Tübingen and Berlin, then two years Vogel’s secretary in Leiden. PD 1936 Hamburg. Taught at Hamburg until 1941, then PD at Breslau, where the decision of his apl. professorship was already made, when he fell during the defense of the town against Red Army.

Zieseniss was the first German Indologist who developed an earnest interest in Indonesia and especially in Javanese. He was known as a pioneer of the study of Śaiva metaphysics. His literary remains are kept in Tübingen.

Publications: Diss. Die Rāma-Sage bei den Malaien, ihre Herkunft und Gestaltung. 123 p. ANISt 1. Hamburg 1928, English transl. Singapore 1963; hab.diss. Das Wṛhaspatitatva. Untersuchungen über Formen und Entwicklungsgeschichte d. nachpurāṇischen Sivaismus. 1-2. Manuscript of 7+141+417 p. Hamburg 1937, parts then separately publ., 1. in G.O.S., 2 in Bijdr. Taal-, Land- en Volkenk. van Ned.-Indie (Janet), see below.

– “Mādhavas Methoden der Quellenbenutzung erläutert an Hand zweier Kapitel des Sarvadarśanasaṁgraha”, ZDMG 92, 1938, *32f.* and some other brief articles.

– Studien zur Geschichte des Śivaismus. 1. Die Śivaitischen Systeme in der alt­javanischen Literatur. Bijdr. Taal-, Land- en Volkenk. van Ned.-Indie 98, 1939; 2. Die Śaiva-Systematik des Vṛhaspatitattva. 16+192 p. Śata-Piṭaka Series 7. N.D. 1958.

Sources: H. v. Glasenapp, ZDMG 99, 1945-49, 156f.; Stache-Rosen 1990, 233f.; German Wikipedia. Photo in Rau 128 (also in TITUS Galeria), another in Sardesai.