BAUSANI, Alessandro. Rome 29.5.1921 — Rome 11.3.1988. Italian Orientalist (Persian Scholar). Grew up in a stricly religious Catholic family, educated at Liceo classico in Rome. Studies in Rome, graduated 1943. Ph.D. From 1944 incaricato di lingua e letteratura persiana, Università di Roma, 1951-56 lettore ordinario; 1956-71 Professor of Persian language and literature at I.U.O.N. (Naples), beside Persian also taught there Urdu and Indonesian. In 1971-88 professore di islamistica at Università di Roma. As a leftist democrat he quitted Catholicism in 1949 and after some hesitation (two years even member of Italian Communist Party) adopted Baha’ism in 1955. Corresponding Member of Accademia dei Lincei 1967, National Member 1983. Knew many languages (Wikipedia: about 30). Married 1952 Elsa Scola.
Publications: Much on Persian and Islamic studies; Italian translations including Il Corano. Florence 1966; diss. Sviluppi storici della sintassi neopersiana. 1943.
– Persia religiosa (da Zaratusta a Bahā‘u‘llāh). 492 p. Milano 1959, English translation Religion in Iran. N.Y. 2000; translated: Testi religiosi zoroastriani. 190 p. Catania 1957/62.
– Translanslated: Omar Khayyam, Quartine (Roba’iyyat). 22+97 p. Turin 1956; Muhammad Iqbal, Il poema celeste. Bari 1965, Gialla al-Din Rumi, Poesie mistiche. 144 p. Milano 1980, etc.
– Storia delle letterature del Pakistan e dell’ Afghanistan: Urdū, Pangiābī, Sindhī, Pashtō, Bengalī Pakistana. 370 p. Milano 1958, 2nd rev. ed. M. 1968; Le letterature del sud-est asiatico: Birmana, siamese, laotiana, cambogiana, vietnamita, giavanese, malese-indonesiana, filippina. 442 p. Florence & Milano 1970; Islam in India. Tipologia di un contatto. 27 p. Rome 1973.
– With Ahmed Ali: Ghalib. Two Essays. 174 p. S.O.R. 39. R. 1969; with J. C. Bürgel: Iqbal und Europa. 85 p. Bern 1980.
– L’Iran e la sua tradizione millenaria. 41 p. Rome 1971.
– “Notizia di una traduzione persiana indedita del Matsyapurāṇa della fine del secolo XVIII”, RSO 31, 1956, 169-177; “Notes on Persian Words in Tamil,” Proceedings of the Second Conference of Tamil Studies 1, Madras 1971, 460-78; “Al-Bîrûnî, un grande pensatore del medievo islamico”, RSO 48, 1973-74, 75-97.
– Numerous articles on widely differring subjects, including many languages (even Basque) and religious questions.
Sources: B. Scarcia Amaretti, Encyclop. Iranica 2008 (online 2013); *B. Scarcia Amoretti & B.M.S. Amoretti, RSO 62, 1988, 135-138; *D. Bredi, “Urdu in Italy: Alessandro Bausani’s Contribution”, Annual of Urdu Studies 15, 2000, 293-303 with photo; *S. Moscati, RSO 66, 1992, 197-199; *V. Poggi, RSO 66, 1992, 201-208; L. Santa Maria, Archipel 38, 1989, 13-16 with photo (mainly on his South-East Asian studies); *G. Scarcia, Annali di Ca’Foscari 27:3, 1988, 395-398; G. Scarcia in treccani.it/enciclopedia; B. Scarcia Amaretti, Encyclop. Iranica 2008; Who’s Who in Italy; Wikipedia with photo (see also Italian version, with further references).
Last Updated on 5 days by Admin
