Igor Diakonov
Encyclopedia
Igor Mikhailovich Diakonov was a Russia
n historian
, linguist
, and translator and a renowned expert in the Ancient Near East
and its languages.
Diakonov, whose brothers were also distinguished historians, was brought up in Norway
and graduated from the Leningrad University in 1938, joining the staff of the Hermitage Museum
the same year. In 1949, he published a comprehensive study of Assyria
, followed by the monograph
on Medea
in 1956. Later, he teamed with the linguist Sergei Starostin
to produce authoritative studies of the Caucasian, Afro-Asiatic
and Hurro-Urartian languages
.
He was honored with a volume published in his memory in 2003, edited by M. Lionel Bender, Gábor Takács, and David Appleyard
. In addition to articles on Afro-Asiatic languages, it contains a five page list of his publications, compiled by Takács (p. viii-xii).
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, and translator and a renowned expert in the Ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
and its languages.
Diakonov, whose brothers were also distinguished historians, was brought up in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and graduated from the Leningrad University in 1938, joining the staff of the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
the same year. In 1949, he published a comprehensive study of Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, followed by the monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
on Medea
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
in 1956. Later, he teamed with the linguist Sergei Starostin
Sergei Starostin
Dr. Sergei Anatolyevich Starostin was a Russian historical linguist and scholar, best known for his work with hypothetical proto-languages, including his work on the reconstruction of the Proto-Borean language, the controversial theory of Altaic languages and the formulation of the Dené–Caucasian...
to produce authoritative studies of the Caucasian, Afro-Asiatic
Afro-Asiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...
and Hurro-Urartian languages
Hurro-Urartian languages
The Hurro-Urartian languages are an extinct language family of the Ancient Near East, comprising only two known languages: Hurrian and Urartian, both of which were spoken in the Taurus mountains area.-Classification:...
.
He was honored with a volume published in his memory in 2003, edited by M. Lionel Bender, Gábor Takács, and David Appleyard
David Appleyard
David Appleyard is a British academic and an expert on Ethiopian languages and linguistics.He is Professor Emeritus of the Languages of the Horn of Africa at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London, where he specialized in Amharic and other Ethiopian Semitic...
. In addition to articles on Afro-Asiatic languages, it contains a five page list of his publications, compiled by Takács (p. viii-xii).
Major published works
- 1985 - Diakonov, Igor. On the Original Home of the Speakers of Indo-European. Journal of Indo-European Studies, Volume 13, p. 92.
- 1988 - Diakonoff, I.M. "Afrasian languages". Nauka
- 1995 - Diakonoff, Igor, M. Archaic Myths of the Orient and the Occident. Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
- 1999 - Diakonov, Igor. The Paths of History. Cambridge University Press.