Zygmunt Abrahamowicz as a Biographer. The Relationship between the Cracow Turkologist and the Polish Biographical Dictionary, 1957-1987
Abstract
Dr Zygmunt Abrahamowicz (1923–1990), a prominent Turkologist, historian, and linguist of Karaite origin living Cracow, cooperated with the board of editors of Polish Biographical Dictionary for 30 years. Over that period of time he prepared 15 biographies of persons engaged in oriental studies and the Orient who lived between the 15th and the 20th centuries. They were as follows: Isaac the Jew, son of Abraham; the Polish nobleman Jan Kierdej; Roksolana – the wife of a sultan; the traveller Krzysztof Pawłowski; the merchant Sefer Muratowicz; the Polish nobleman Marcin Paszkowski of Zadora Coat of Arms; the translators Samuel Otwinowski, Franciszek Mesgnien-Meniński and Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki; the Armenian bishop Deodat Nersesowicz; the legation secretary Stanisław Małachowski; Italian Franciszek Giuliani; thearchitect Jan Chryzostom Orłowski, the Polish resident in Istanbul Stanisław Kostka Pichelstein; the historian, hungarologist and ethnographer Jan Reychman (1910–1975). Dr Abrahamowicz provided all his biographies with a comprehensive and multilingual bibliography on the subject as well as archival sources. They are still not outdated despite the fact that over 20 years have passed since the death of the author. This is because he used all the available materials regarding the above-mentioned persons when preparing their biographies. This proves that Z. Abrahamowicz employed excellent research methods as a linguist and historian of the East. It is also testimony to his most profound erudition.
Keywords:
Zygmunt Abrahamowicz, Polish Biografhical Dictionary, Oriental studiesReferences
References
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Authors
Stefan Gąsiorowskis38kj@op.pl
Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Wydział Historyczny Poland
Doktor habilitowany, adiunkt w Instytucie Judaistyki Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego i profesor nadzwyczajny w Instytucie Historii Państwowej Akademii Nauk. Badacz dziejów i kultury Żydów oraz Karaimów, bibliograf i biografista. Autor ponad 200 publikacji naukowych, w tym 2 monografii: Chrześcijanie i Żydzi w Żółkwi w XVII i XVIII wieku (Kraków 2001) oraz Karaimi w Koronie i na Litwie w XV-XVIII w. (Kraków–Budapeszt 2008). Współautor 22 tomów Bibliografii historii polskiej za lata 1991–2012 (Kraków 1994–2014). Członek Polskiego Towarzystwa Studiów Żydowskich i redakcji czasopisma naukowego „Studia Judaica”.
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