Eugen Taeubler

Eugen Taeubler was a historian and classical and biblical scholar. Taeubler, born in Gostyn (Poznan), went to school at Lissa; he studied bible and talmud at the rabbinical seminary and the Lehranstalt (Hochschule) fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin. At the University of Berlin he studied classical philology and Semitics under Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, and ancient history and archaeology under T. Mommsen, Eduard Meyer, and Norden. During Mommsen's last years Taeubler served as his scientific secretary. Founder of the Gesamtarchiv der deutschen Juden (1906; see *Archives), Taeubler served as its director during 1906–18 and edited its Mitteilungen (1908–11). From 1910 to 1916 he lectured on ancient Jewish history at the Lehranstalt until he was called up for military service in 1916; during 1919–22 he directed the research section of the *Akademie fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums, having played a prominent role in its establishment. During the same period he lectured at the University of Berlin on ancient history. He was assistant professor at Zurich (1922–25) and full professor at Heidelberg (1925–33), becoming a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences in 1929. When the Nazis came to power, Taeubler returned to the Lehranstalt; in the spring of 1941 he gave his last lesson in Berlin. Later that year he immigrated to the United States with his wife Selma *Stern-Taeubler. He became research professor at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, teaching Hellenistic Jewish literature until 1953

Among his important works on ancient history are: Imperium Romanum (1913); Die Vorgeschichte des zweiten punischen Kriegs (1921); and a collection of essays, Tyche (1926/27). He wrote numerous studies and essays in Jewish history. Biblische Studien, dealing with the period of the Judges, appeared post-humously in 1958, as did Aufsaetze zur Problematik juedischer Geschichtsschreibung 1908 – 1950 (1977), essays on Jewish historiography, and Ausgewaehlte Schriften zur Alten Geschichte (1987). Taeubler's influence on modern Jewish historiography was considerable. His mastery of ancient history and the methods of historical scholarship was reflected in his understanding of the geographical and geopolitical elements in early Jewish history, the relations between Jews and the lands in which they lived, and the nature of Jewish autonomy in the Diaspora.

Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.