About
Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy was a major French orientalist of the 19th century. Professor of Arabic at the École des langues orientales from its foundation in 1795, he also became professor of Persian at the Collège de France in 1806. A member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, he founded the Société asiatique in 1822. He trained Jean-François Champollion and contributed to the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone. His work includes an Arabic grammar and studies on the Druze. He never traveled to the Orient, conducting his research from Paris.
* 1758-09-21 — † 1838-02-21
Major works
- Grammaire arabe (1810)grammar
- Chrestomathie arabe (1806)anthology
- Mémoires sur diverses antiquités de la Perse (1793)memoirs
- Exposé de la religion des Druzes (1838)study
- Mélanges de littérature orientale (1861)collection
Key milestones
- 1795Appointed professor of Arabic at the École des langues orientales vivantes from its foundation.
- 1806Appointed professor of Persian at the Collège de France, a chair created for him.
- 1822Founded and became first president of the Société asiatique.
Themes
Arabic languagePersian languageorientalismDruze religiondecipherment of scripts
Sources: heritage.bnf.fr · archives.collections.ed.ac.uk · shs.hal.science