Giuseppe Simone Assemani
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Simone Assemani (or Yusuf ibn Sim'un as-Sim'ani, Joseph Simon Assemani), 1687–1768, was a Lebanese
Maronite orientalist
.
, Mount Lebanon
. When very young he was sent to the Maronite College in Rome
, and was transferred thence to the Vatican library
. He was ordained priest
on September 21, 1710. In 1717 he was sent to Egypt and Syria to search for valuable manuscripts, and returned with about 150 very choice ones. In 1735 Pope Clement XII
sent him again to the East where he presided over the 1736 Maronite Synod of Mount-Lebanon, which laid the foundations for the modern Maronite Church
. He returned with a still more valuable collection.
On his return he was made, in 1739, First Librarian of the Vatican library
. As reward of his activity he was consecrated titular bishop
of Tyre on December 7, 1766. He died in Rome on January 13, 1768.
His brother
and nephew
were also noted orientalists.
Of the Bibliotheca the first three vols only were completed. The work was to have been in four parts:
Only the first part was completed, but extensive preparations were made for the others. There is a German abridgment by August Friedrich Pfeiffer (Erlangen 1770-77) http://books.google.it/books?id=PBkHAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Giuseppe+Simone+Assemani&lr=&as_brr=1#PPP5,M1 and a Reprint (Hildesheim, New York: Olms o.J. ca. 1990).
Other works are:
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
Maronite orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
.
Life
Giuseppe Simone Assemani was born on August 27, 1687 in HasrounHasroun
Hasroun is a village located in the Bsharri District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. It is situated in the Valley of Qadisha, overlooking the southern branch of this valley, the Qannoubine Valley....
, Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
. When very young he was sent to the Maronite College in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and was transferred thence to the Vatican library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
. He was ordained priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on September 21, 1710. In 1717 he was sent to Egypt and Syria to search for valuable manuscripts, and returned with about 150 very choice ones. In 1735 Pope Clement XII
Pope Clement XII
Pope Clement XII , born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding...
sent him again to the East where he presided over the 1736 Maronite Synod of Mount-Lebanon, which laid the foundations for the modern Maronite Church
Maronite Church
The Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome . It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th...
. He returned with a still more valuable collection.
On his return he was made, in 1739, First Librarian of the Vatican library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
. As reward of his activity he was consecrated titular bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Tyre on December 7, 1766. He died in Rome on January 13, 1768.
His brother
Giuseppe Luigi Assemani
Giuseppe Luigi Assemani was a Lebanese orientalist and a Professor of Oriental languages at Rome.Assemani came from a well known family of Lebanese Maronites that included several notable Orientalists...
and nephew
Stefano Evodio Assemani
Stefano Evodio Assemani, , Lebanese orientalist, nephew of Giuseppe Simone Assemani and Giuseppe Luigi Assemani, was the chief assistant of his uncle Giuseppe Simone in his work in the Vatican library....
were also noted orientalists.
Works
When appointed librarian of the Vatican library he instantly began to carry into execution most extensive plans for editing and publishing the most valuable manuscript treasures of the Vatican. His main work is:- Bibliotheca Orientalis Clementino-Vaticana in qua manuscriptos codices Syriacos, Arabicos, Persicos, Turcicos, Hebraicos, Samaritanos, Armenicos, Aethiopicos, Graecos, Aegyptiacos, Ibericos, et Malabaricos, jussu et munificentia Clementis XI Pontificis Maximi ex Oriente conquisitos, comparatos, et Bibliotecae Vaticanae addictos Recensuit, digessit, et genuina scripta a spuriis secrevit, addita singulorum auctorum vita, Joseph Simonius Assemanus, Syrus Maronita (Rome, 1719–1728), 9 vols folio
Of the Bibliotheca the first three vols only were completed. The work was to have been in four parts:
- Syrian and allied manuscripts, orthodox, Nestorian and JacobiteSyriac Orthodox ChurchThe Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
- Arabian manuscripts, ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... - CopticCoptic languageCoptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
, Aethiopic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts - Syrian and Arabian manuscripts not distinctively theological
Only the first part was completed, but extensive preparations were made for the others. There is a German abridgment by August Friedrich Pfeiffer (Erlangen 1770-77) http://books.google.it/books?id=PBkHAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Giuseppe+Simone+Assemani&lr=&as_brr=1#PPP5,M1 and a Reprint (Hildesheim, New York: Olms o.J. ca. 1990).
Other works are:
- Ephraemi Syri opera omnia quae extant, Gr., Syr., et Lat., 6 vols. folio (Rome, 1737–1746)
- Italicae historiae scriptores ex bibliothecae Vaticanae aliarumque insignium Bibliothecarum manuscriptis codicibus collegit, e praefationibus, notisque illustravit Joseph Simonius Assemanus. Romae, ex typographia Komarek apud Angelum Rotilium, 1751.
- Codex canonum Ecclesiae graecae. Romae, ex typographia Komarek, 1762.
- De scriptoribus Syris orthodoxis. Romae, typis Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide, 1719.
- Bibliotheca juris orientalis canonici et civilis auctore Josepho Simonio Assemano. (5 voll.) Romae, ex typographia Komarek, 1762-1766.
- Italicae historiae scriptores ex Bibliothecae Vaticanae, aliarumque insignium bibliothecarum manuscriptis codicibus collegit & praefationibus, notisque illustravit Joseph Simonius Assemanus ... De rebus Neapolitanis et Siculis, ab anno Christi quingentesimo ad annum millesimum ducentesimum. (4 voll.) Romae, ex typographia Komarek, apud Angelum Rotilium, Linguarum Orientalium Typographum, 1751-1753.
- Josephi Simoni Assemani De Syris monophysitis dissertatio. Romae, ex typographia Sacrae Congregationis de propaganda fide, 1730.
- Josephi Simonii Assemani Quae hactenus typis prodierunt opera omnia. Romae, ex typographia Angeli Rotilii, & Philippi Bacchelli, e regione domus PP. Theatinorum S. Andreae de Valle, 1751.
- Kalendaria Ecclesiae universae, in quibus tum ex vetustis marmoribus, tum ex codicibus, tabulis, parietinis, pictis, scriptis, scalptisve, sanctorum nomina,imaagines, et festi per annum dies Ecclesiarum Orientis, et Occidentis praemissis uniuscujusque Ecclesiae originibus recensentur, describuntur, notisque illustrantur. (6 voll.) Roma, sumptibus Fausti Amidei ..., 1755.
- Rudimenta linguae Arabicae cum catechesi christiana.... Romae, typis Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide, 1732.
- Nuova grammatica per apprendere agevolmente la lingua greca composta da monsignor Giuseppe Simonio Assemani. (2 voll.) In Urbino, nella stamperia della Ven. Cap. del SS. Sagramento per lo stampator Camerale, 1737.
- Oratio de eligendo summo Pontifice ad E. mos & R. mos Principes S.R.E. Cardinales habita in SS. Basilica Vaticana a Josepho Simonio Assemano, die 18 Februarii 1740. Romae, ex tipographia Apostolica Vaticana, apud Joannem Mariam Salvioni, 1740.
- Oratio habita in Basilica principis apostolorum de vrbe sie 22. februarii 1733. A Josepho Simonio Assemano ... dum a capitulo, et canonicis Benedicto XIII pontifici maximo solenne exequiae celebrarentur, antequam ejus corpus inde ad ecclesiam Santae Mariae supra Mineruam efferretur. Romae, & Ferrariae, Typis Bernardini Pomatelli impressoris episcopalis, 1733.
- Bibliothecae apostolicae vaticanae codicum manuscriptorum catalogus in tres partes distributus in quarum prima orientales in altera graeci in tertia latini italici aliorumque europaeorum idiomatum codices Stephanus Evodius Assemanus archiepiscopus apamensis et Joseph Simonius Assemanus. Paris, Maisonneuve, 1926.