Joseph von Hammer Purgstall

Joseph von Hammer Purgstal

Born in Graz, the son of an official in the provincial administration, Hammer's surname is linked to his family's service under Prince Eugene. The surname Von Purgstall came later when this family adopted him. The greatest source for Hammer's life is his own memoirs.

In 1789, Hammer started to study at the Orientalische Akademie in Vienna, where he received a ten-year education to become an interpreter. In 1799, he was assigned to Istanbul as an interpreter. In 1802, he started working as an embassy secretary for Baron Stürmer. This position gave Hammer the opportunity to get to know the Ottoman Empire and Egypt (Egypt was a rising power within the Ottoman Empire at the time of his appointment), to get in touch with the language and to collect many works. The rich collection in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek today is the result of this period. It includes not only Turkish, Arabic and Persian works, but also ancient Egyptian and Oriental inscriptions and papyri. It was also during his stay in Egypt that Hammer became acquainted with the “One Thousand and One Nights” and translated it into German.

His term in Istanbul ended on May 7, 1806, when he was appointed Austrian consul to the city of Iasi in Bagdan. He was never able to return to Istanbul and other eastern countries. Within a year, his diplomatic mission ended and he remained in Vienna, where he worked as an interpreter and made occasional trips to European cities. During his long stay in Vienna, Hammer was promoted to chief translator and published a two-volume guide to Istanbul and the Bosporus (Constantinopolis un der Bosporus). After returning to Vienna, he did not travel to the East again, but continued his contacts with orientalists. In 1807, while he was working as a foreign affairs advisor in Vienna, he traveled to Paris with the Ashduchess Maria Louise. Here, in addition to conducting important research, he also came into contact with well-known orientalists in France. The reason why his contacts here were important was that the best orientalists of the period were in France. Here, in addition to using archives and libraries, he met Silvestre de Sacy, one of the most famous French orientalists of the period, whom he admired and influenced him.

In 1814, he became a court interpreter and received the title of “Hofrat”. In 1817, he asked to be appointed to the embassy in Istanbul, but Metternich rejected this request. The reason behind this rejection was that Metternich wanted Hammer to be at the forefront as a researcher, not as a diplomat. This idea of Metternich made Hammer a historian that even Friedrich Engels appreciated. In 1835, Hammer became a member of the Purgstall family and received the title of “Freiherr”. At the same time, as a result of long efforts, in 1847, he organized the establishment of the Oriental Section of the Academy of Sciences and became its president. Like all historians of the XIXth century, Hammer's main achievement was not only to start a new era in the historiography of the Ottoman Empire and the East, but also to influence Goethe and the whole of German literature with his works from Turkish, Persian and Arabic literature.

He wrote about his active scientific and diplomatic life, his conflict and cooperation with Metternich, and the atmosphere of the period in his memoirs, which he wrote in Heinfeld Castle, where he retired in the 1850s. Hammer died in Vienna on November 23, 1856.

One of Hammer's most important works is his Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches, written in German, which covers the period from the foundation of the Ottoman Empire to the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774. This work is recognized as one of the greatest works written by a European using Eastern artifacts. Although he also used European archives, he made extensive use of Arabic, Persian and Turkish sources, but did not pay much attention to Slavic and Byzantine sources. Volume I begins with the foundation of the Ottoman Empire and continues until the conquest of Istanbul. Volume II covers the death of Selim I, Volume III the death of Selim II, Volume IV the second deposition of Mustafa I, Volume V the sadaret of Köprülü Mehmet Pasha (a kind of prime ministerial office in the Ottoman Empire), Volume VI the Treaty of Karlofça, Volume VII the Treaty of Belgrade, Volume VIII the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. Volume IX contains the conclusion and discussion section. Volume X contains various tables, bibliographies, chronologies and lists. However, Austrian history and interpretation are inevitably noticeable in both the plan and the commentary. At the same time, it is also occasionally biased and erroneous. One example is the portrayal of Mehmed the Conqueror as a bloodshed artist and the Janissaries as marauders.

Hammer was also an active organizer and practitioner of Oriental languages and history. When he returned to Vienna after his diplomatic mission in the Ottoman Empire, he not only studied but also tried to organize himself to teach and publish on the subject. With the financial support of his benefactor Count Wenzeslaus von Rzewusky, he founded the Society of Lovers of the Orient. His publication Fundgruben des Orients included articles and translations on Eastern history and languages. He also emphasized the teaching of Turkish and Persian, two other important Eastern languages besides Arabic.

Another issue in which Hammer stands out is that he was the first person to introduce Ottoman travelogues to Europe. He translated the first volume of Evliya Çelebi's work about Istanbul and part of the second volume into English under the title Narrative of Travels in Europe-Asia and Africa in the Seventeenth Century by Evliya Efendi. He had previously published his notes on his travels while living in Ottoman lands. This work is important not only for historical topography and Eastern geography but also for the charts and illustrations it contains. He also translated the Rumelia and Bosnia sections of Katib Çelebi's copy of Cihannüma in Count Rzewusky's library into German under the title Rumelia und Bosna, Geographich beschrieben von Mustafa ben Abdalla Hadschi Chalfa.

Although there are some false accusations in his works, Hammer was a pioneer in the orientalism of German-speaking countries because he touched untouched areas. In addition to the oriental languages he knew, he was fluent in about ten languages, including Greek and Latin.

References

• Cemil Koçak - Hammer’in Hatıraları

  
  

• İLBER ORTAYLI, "HAMMER-PURGSTALL, Joseph Freiherr von", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/hammer-purgstall-joseph-freiherr-von (28.02.2025).