Johann Jakob Reiske

Johann Jakob Reiske (Latin: Johannes Jacobus Reiskius; 25 December 1716 – 14 August 1774) was a German scholar and physician. He was a pioneer in the fields of Arabic and Byzantine philology as well as Islamic numismatics.

Biography

Reiske was born at Zörbig, in the Electorate of Saxony.

From the orphanage in Halle he passed in 1733 to the University of Leipzig, and there spent five years. He tried to find his own way in middle Greek literature, to which German schools then gave little attention; but, as he had not mastered the grammar, he soon found this a sore task and took up Arabic. He was poor, having almost nothing beyond his allowance, which for the five years was only two hundred thalers. But everything of which he could cheat his appetite was spent on Arabic books, and when he had read all that was then printed he thirsted for manuscripts, and in March 1738 started on foot for Hamburg, joyous though totally unprovided, on his way to Leiden and the treasures of the Warnerianum.

At Hamburg, he got some money and letters of recommendation from the Hebraist Johann Christoph Wolf, and took ship to Amsterdam. There d'Orville, to whom he had an introduction, proposed to retain him as his amanuensis at a salary of six hundred guilders. Reiske refused, though he thought the offer very generous; he did not want money, he wanted manuscripts.