Aziz Suryal Atiya

Aziz Suryal Atiya
عزيز سوريال عطية Ⲁⲍⲓⲍ Ⲥⲟⲩⲣⲓⲁⲗ Ⲁϯⲁ
University of Michigan faculty portrait of Atiya
Born	(1898-07-04)July 4, 1898 Zefta,Egypt
Died	September 24, 1988(1988-09-25)(aged 90) Salt Lake City,Utah,U.S.
Nationality	Egyptian
Alma mater	University of Liverpool(BA) University of London(PhD)
Awards	University of Liverpool(DLitt,1938) Brigham Young University(LLD,1967)
Scientific career
Fields	Coptology
Institutions	Cairo University Alexandria University Institute of Coptic Studies Princeton University University of Utah

Aziz Suryal Atiya(Arabic:عزيز سوريال عطية,Coptic:Ⲁⲍⲓⲍ Ⲥⲟⲩⲣⲓⲁⲗ Ⲁϯⲁ;July 5, 1898 – September 24, 1988)was an EgyptianCoptologistwho was aCoptichistorian and scholar and an expert in Islamic andCrusadesstudies.

Atiya was the founder of theInstitute of Coptic Studiesin Cairo in the 1950s, and was also the founder of theMiddle East Center,University of Utah.

His library, the Aziz Atiya Library for Middle East Studies atUniversity of Utah,is considered the fifth largest of such collection in North America.

While at the University of Utah, Professor Atiya rediscovered ten lost papyri fragments related to the Mormon scripture,Book of Abraham,in the archives of the New YorkMetropolitan Museum of Art.

Early life and education

Atiya was born in Egypt on July 4, 1898, and was aCoptic Christian.He matriculated at theUniversity of Liverpool,where he earned abachelor's degreewith first-class honors in medieval and modern history, and obtained a PhD in Arabic and Islamic studies from theUniversity of London.He was also Egypt's firstFulbright scholar.

Work

Atiya published a large study entitledThe Crusades in the Later Middle Agesin 1938, and was also the first author ofThe Coptic Encyclopedia,published in 1991.

The chapters on the Copts in his bookThe History of Eastern Christianity(1968, 1980) have become landmarks, not only for specialists but also for the general public.

It was Atiya who had the wordsCoptologyandCoptologistintroduced into the English language.

He could speak English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Latin, and to a lesser extent, Spanish, Greek, Coptic, Turkish, Welsh, and Dutch.

Academic career

• Honorary Professor of Medieval (including Oriental) History for Kahle's Orientalisches Seminar in Bonn, Germany 1935–1939
• Professor of Medieval History atCairo University1939–1942.
• Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts (1949–1950) and Chairman of the History Department atAlexandria University1952–1954.
• Medieval Academy Visiting Professor of Arabic Studies atUniversity of Michigan.
• Positions at theUnion Theological SeminaryandColumbia University.
• Patten Visiting Professor and Lecturer atIndiana University1957
• Professor of Arabic and Islamic History atPrinceton University(1957–1958).
• Professor of Languages and History atUniversity of Utah1959.

Awards

• Awarded aDoctor of Lettersfrom theUniversity of Liverpool1938.
• Granted the honorary degree ofDoctor of Humane Lettersand honoraryDoctor of Laws(LL.D.),Brigham Young UniversityUnited States 1967.

Publications

• The Arabic Manuscripts of Mount Sinai: A Hand-list of the Arabic Manuscripts and Scrolls Microfilmed at the Library of the Monastery of St. Catherine(1955). ASIN B0006AU4NM.
• The Coptic Encyclopedia,vol. 1 (1991).
• The Copts and Christian Civilization(1979).ISBN978-0-87480-145-3.
• Crusade, Commerce and Culture(1962). ISBN ASIN B0000CLOTM.
• The Crusade(1977).ISBN978-0-8371-8364-0.
• The Crusade: Historiography and Bibliography(1962). ASIN B0000CLOU1.
• The Crusade in the Later Middle Ages(1938).
• The Crusade of Nicopolis(1934).
• The Crusade(1962).ISBN978-0-19-690008-7.
• Egypt and Aragon: Embassies and Diplomatic Correspondence Between 1300 and 1330 A.D.(1966). ASIN B0007J1LYI.
• A Fourteenth Century Encyclopedist from Alexandria(1977). ASIN B0006XYA4I. AboutMuḥammad ibn al-Ḳāsim al-Nuwayrī al-Iskandarānī,whose three-volume history of Alexandria Atiya edited and published in six volumes.
• A History of Eastern Christianity(1980).ISBN978-0-527-03703-1.This is an expanded edition of the first edition published in 1968. ASIN B000IOZ7AG.
• The Monastery of St Catherine and the Mount Sinai Expedition(1952). ASIN B0007EBOK4.
• Atiya published approximately twenty books, many of which are multi-volume projects also journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles, including authoring or co-authoring dozens in the monumental Coptic Encyclopedia.

See also

• Coptic history
• Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
• List of Copts
• Lists of Egyptians
• Institute of Coptic Studies
• Coptology

External links

• Biography
• Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia, updated and maintained by the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University
• Articles authored/co-authored by Atiya as listed in the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia
• Books titles by Aziz Suryal Atiya
• Arabic Papyrus, Parchment, and PaperatUniversity of Utah Digital Library,Marriott Library Special Collections
• Aziz Suryal Atiya PapersatUniversity of Utah Digital Library,Marriott Library Special Collections