Hansjoachim von der Esch: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Importing Wikidata short description: "German explorer and diplomat (1899–1976)" (Shortdesc helper) |
m v2.05b - Bot T20 CW#61 - Fix errors for CW project (Reference before punctuation) |
||
| (13 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown) | |||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
==Career as explorer== |
==Career as explorer== |
||
After having served as officer during the [[World War I|First World War |
After having served as officer during the [[World War I|First World War]], Esch studied mechanical engineering and [[Arabic]]. From 1929 to 1939 he represented a German company in Egypt.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Hansjoachim von der Esch - Munzinger Biographie |url=https://www.munzinger.de/search/document?index=mol-00&id=00000004964&type=text/html&query.key=Rkxow6ND&template=/publikationen/personen/document.jsp&preview= |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.munzinger.de |language=de}}</ref> During this time he made several expeditions into the [[Libyan Desert]], and from 1934 to 1935, he accompanied the Hungarian explorer [[Laszlo Almasy]] on his motorized expeditions, who called him his "[[navigator]]". In 1934, Esch led a section of Almásy's expedition in the [[Gilf Kebir]] to the [[Uweinat]] mountain. Somewhat before, he came into contact with the [[Magyarab]] tribe, that claim to be of Hungarian origin, in [[Wadi Halfa]], [[Sudan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bak |first=Marcin |date=2020-03-30 |title=WHERE THE DANUBE MEETS THE NILE, OR A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE MAGYARABS {{!}} Instytut Felczaka Intézet |url=https://kurier.plus/en/node/1237 |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=kurier.plus}}</ref> |
||
Esch also undertook several expeditions on his own, both by car and by [[camel train]]. His interest focussed not only on geographical measurements and cartography, but also on archaeology. |
Esch also undertook several expeditions on his own, both by car and by [[camel train]]. His interest focussed not only on geographical measurements and cartography, but also on archaeology. At [[Wadi el-Hudi]] he claimed to have discovered ancient [[amethyst]] mines and interpreted nearby rock carvings and a series of ancient stone heaps as traces of the use of a [[dioptra]] for [[Geodesy|geodetics]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-27 |title=Weenak! |url=https://wadielhudi.com/weenak/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Wadi el-Hudi Expedition |language=en}}</ref> [[Howard Carter (archaeologist)|Howard Carter]] acknowledged these discoveries, but disagreed with Esch's interpretation of early geodetics.<ref name="Esch 1941">Hansjoachim von der Esch: Weenak – die Karawane ruft (Brockhaus 1941)</ref> |
||
===Later expeditions=== |
===Later expeditions=== |
||
Later on, Esch tried to trace the route taken by the Persian king [[ |
Later on, Esch tried to trace the route taken by the Persian king [[Cambyses II]] during his attempt to conquer the oasis of [[Siwa Oasis|Siwa]]. He discovered a series of big stone heaps which he attributed to the Persian army and interpreted the remains of thousands of jars at the "pottery hill" of [[Abu Ballas]], discovered in 1917, as a water depot for the army. Somewhat later, he tried to explore the zone with a camel train. After a successful test expedition with [[Senussi]] nomads, accompanied by the English explorer [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard]], he learned that the British authorities of Egypt, in the wake of growing tensions between the UK and Germany, had issued orders to the Senussi not to put camels at the disposal of foreigners. That put an end to his expeditions in Egypt.<ref name="Esch 1941"/> |
||
In 1941 he published his experiences as an explorer and his archaeological findings and theories in the book ''Weenak – die Karawane ruft'' (Leipzig, 1941). The title, a combination of Arabic and German, means, "Wherever you are, the caravan calls." He also edited Almásy's books for publication in Germany. |
In 1941 he published his experiences as an explorer and his archaeological findings and theories in the book ''Weenak – die Karawane ruft'' (Leipzig, 1941). The title, a combination of Arabic and German, means, "Wherever you are, the caravan calls." He also edited Almásy's books for publication in Germany. |
||
==Career as ambassador and later life== |
==Career as ambassador and later life== |
||
From 1952 to 1957, Esch served as ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany |
From 1952 to 1957, Esch served as ambassador of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] to [[Syria]], and from 1957 to 1960, he was ambassador to [[Morocco]]. He died in 1976.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kabinettsprotokolle Online "Esch, Hansjoachim von der" (5.57:) |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/cocoon/barch/0000/z/z1960a/kap1_5/para2_57.html |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.bundesarchiv.de}}</ref> |
||
==Chafetz expedition== |
|||
From September 1983 to February 1984, Gary S. Chafetz, an American journalist and author, led an expedition — sponsored by Harvard University, The National Geographic Society, the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority, and the Ligabue Research Institute — that searched for the Lost Army of Cambyses. Chafetz, who was apparently the first person to translate the obscure book by von der Esch, based the location of his search on the six large cairns that von der Esch reported having found in April 1939. Chafetz's six-month search was conducted along the Egyptian-Libyan border in a remote 100-square-kilometer area of complex dunes immediately north northwest of the six von der Esch [[cairn]]<nowiki/>s, south west of the uninhabited Bahrein Oasis, and approximately 100 miles south east of Siwa (Amon) Oasis. The $250,000 expedition had at its disposal 20 Egyptian geologists and laborers, a National Geographic photographer, two Harvard Film Studies documentary filmmakers, three camels, an ultra-light aircraft, and ground-penetrating radar. The expedition discovered approximately 500 tumuli (Zoroastrian-style graves) but no artifacts. Several tumuli contained bone fragments. [[Thermoluminescence]] later dated these fragments to 1,500 BCE, approximately 1000 years earlier than the Lost Army. A recumbent winged sphinx carved in [[Oolite|oolitic]] limestone was also discovered in a cave in the uninhabited Sitra Oasis (between Bahrein and Siwa Oases), whose provenance appeared to be Persian. Chafetz was arrested when he returned to Cairo in February 1984 for "smuggling an airplane into Egypt," even though he had the written permission of the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority to bring the aircraft into the country. He was interrogated for 24 hours. The charges were dropped after he promised to donate the ultra-light airplane to the Egyptian Government, that subsequently was given to the Egyptian War Museum in Cairo.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
| Line 28: | Line 25: | ||
[[Category:1899 births]] |
[[Category:1899 births]] |
||
[[Category:1976 deaths]] |
[[Category:1976 deaths]] |
||
[[Category:20th-century German diplomats]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century German explorers]] |
|||
[[Category:German explorers of Africa]] |
[[Category:German explorers of Africa]] |
||
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to Syria]] |
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to Syria]] |
||
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to Morocco]] |
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to Morocco]] |
||
[[Category:Cambyses II]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 04:16, 28 November 2024
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2016) |
Hansjoachim von der Esch (6 October 1899 in Mülheim, Germany – 10 May 1976 in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland) was a German explorer in Egypt and Sudan, as well as German ambassador to Syria and Morocco.
Career as explorer
[edit]After having served as officer during the First World War, Esch studied mechanical engineering and Arabic. From 1929 to 1939 he represented a German company in Egypt.[1] During this time he made several expeditions into the Libyan Desert, and from 1934 to 1935, he accompanied the Hungarian explorer Laszlo Almasy on his motorized expeditions, who called him his "navigator". In 1934, Esch led a section of Almásy's expedition in the Gilf Kebir to the Uweinat mountain. Somewhat before, he came into contact with the Magyarab tribe, that claim to be of Hungarian origin, in Wadi Halfa, Sudan.[2]
Esch also undertook several expeditions on his own, both by car and by camel train. His interest focussed not only on geographical measurements and cartography, but also on archaeology. At Wadi el-Hudi he claimed to have discovered ancient amethyst mines and interpreted nearby rock carvings and a series of ancient stone heaps as traces of the use of a dioptra for geodetics.[3] Howard Carter acknowledged these discoveries, but disagreed with Esch's interpretation of early geodetics.[4]
Later expeditions
[edit]Later on, Esch tried to trace the route taken by the Persian king Cambyses II during his attempt to conquer the oasis of Siwa. He discovered a series of big stone heaps which he attributed to the Persian army and interpreted the remains of thousands of jars at the "pottery hill" of Abu Ballas, discovered in 1917, as a water depot for the army. Somewhat later, he tried to explore the zone with a camel train. After a successful test expedition with Senussi nomads, accompanied by the English explorer E. E. Evans-Pritchard, he learned that the British authorities of Egypt, in the wake of growing tensions between the UK and Germany, had issued orders to the Senussi not to put camels at the disposal of foreigners. That put an end to his expeditions in Egypt.[4]
In 1941 he published his experiences as an explorer and his archaeological findings and theories in the book Weenak – die Karawane ruft (Leipzig, 1941). The title, a combination of Arabic and German, means, "Wherever you are, the caravan calls." He also edited Almásy's books for publication in Germany.
Career as ambassador and later life
[edit]From 1952 to 1957, Esch served as ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Syria, and from 1957 to 1960, he was ambassador to Morocco. He died in 1976.[1][5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Hansjoachim von der Esch - Munzinger Biographie". www.munzinger.de (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ Bak, Marcin (30 March 2020). "WHERE THE DANUBE MEETS THE NILE, OR A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE MAGYARABS | Instytut Felczaka Intézet". kurier.plus. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ "Weenak!". Wadi el-Hudi Expedition. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ a b Hansjoachim von der Esch: Weenak – die Karawane ruft (Brockhaus 1941)
- ^ "Kabinettsprotokolle Online "Esch, Hansjoachim von der" (5.57:)". www.bundesarchiv.de. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
