Joseph Tiefenthaler
Encyclopedia
Joseph Tiefenthaler (27 August 1710 – 5 July 1785) was a Jesuit missionary
and one of the earliest European geographers to write about India.
Born in Bozen
, in the county of Tyrol
, then in the Austrian empire, not much is known of his early life and studies except that he spent two years in Spain
. He entered the Society of Jesus
on 9 October 1729, and went in 1740 to the East Indian mission. Arriving in Goa
, he was soon sent to be the Rector of the Jesuit High School of Agra
. Agra was then the center of the so-called 'Mission of the Grand Moghul
'. In 1747 he went to Narwar
where he stayed some 18 years.
To escape Prime Minister Pombal's order for all Jesuits to be expelled from Portuguese
controlled areas (in 1759), he left and travelled around North India,
He followed the entire course of the Ganges down to Calcutta, which had been newly established as a city by Job Charnock
as a commercial settlement of the English. On returning to Agra in 1778, he received the news that the Society of Jesus
, the religious order to which he belonged, had been suppressed by Pope Clement XIV
. He stayed in India, and on his death in Lucknow
was buried in the mission cemetery in Agra
. Besides his native tongue he understood Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Hindustani
, Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit
.
. The work also contains a large numbers of maps, plans, and sketches drawn by himself, and the list of geographical positions fills twenty-one quarto
pages. He also prepared a large book of maps on the Ganges Basin, entitled: Cursus Gangæ fluvi Indiæ maximi, inde Priaga seu Elahbado Calcuttam usque ope acus magneticæ exploratus atque litteris mandatus aJ. T. S. J. (1765). The original map of the lower course of the river measures 15',that of the middle course, from Benares to Patna
, measures 4' 3" square. In addition there is a map of similar dimensions of the Gagra, the whole accompanied by numerous notes, sketches of particular parts, and maps giving details. he also wrote a work on the regions containing the sources of the chief rivers of India.
In the field of religions he wrote Brahmanism, a work directed against the writings of the Englishmen Z. Howell and Alexander Dow
. Others of his writings were on Indian polytheism
, Indian asceticism
, the religion of the Parsees, Islam, the relation of these religions to one another, etc. His writings in the department of the natural sciences are: astronomical observations on the sunspot
s and Zodiacal light
, studies on Hindu astronomy, astrology
, and cosmology, and descriptions and observation's of the flora
and fauna
of India. He also wrote in Latin on the origin of Hindus and of their religion, an account in German of the expeditions of Nadir Shah to India, the deeds of the Mughal
Shah Alam in Persian, and in French in incursions of the Afghans and the conquest of Delhi
, and the contemporary history of India, 1757-64. In linguistics he wrote a Sanskrit-Parsee lexicon
, treatises in Latin on the language of the Parsees, on the proper pronunciation of Latin, etc.
Tiefenthaler sent these works in manuscript partly to the Danish scholar Dr. Kratzenstein in Copenhagen
, partly to the French orientalist
and geographer A. H. Anquetil-Duperron
(1731–1805). The latter praised the value and importance of the works, especially those on geography, in his address before the French Academy of Sciences
(Journal des Scavans, Dec., 1776), and made the writing of Tiefenthaler partly accessible to the academic world in his Recherches hist. et géogr. sur l'Inde (1786), and also in his Carte général du cours du Gange et du Gagra dressée par les cartes particuliéres du P. Tieffenthaler (Paris, 1784). A part of the manuscripts in Copenhagen were obtained by the German scholar Johann Bernoulli of Berlin who used them in connection with the Recherches of Anquetil for the work Des Pater Joseph Tieffenthalers d. Ges. Jesu. und apost. Missionarius in Indien historisch-geographische Beschreibung von Hindustan . . . (3 vols., quarto, Berlin-Gotha, 1785–87). The greater part of the first two volumes is devoted to Tiefenthaler's writings, his maps, and sketches. the French edition, entitled Description hist. et géogr. de l'Inde . . . appeared in Berlin in three vols. (1786–91). A large part of his manuscripts are probably still extant in Paris and Copenhagen.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and one of the earliest European geographers to write about India.
Born in Bozen
Bozen
Bozen may refer to:*Bolzano, a bi-lingual northern Italian provincial capital city of which Bozen is the official German name*Bözen, a Swiss municipality*Bożeń, a village in Poland*Bozen Green, a village in Hertfordshire, England...
, in the county of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, then in the Austrian empire, not much is known of his early life and studies except that he spent two years in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He entered the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
on 9 October 1729, and went in 1740 to the East Indian mission. Arriving in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, he was soon sent to be the Rector of the Jesuit High School of Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
. Agra was then the center of the so-called 'Mission of the Grand Moghul
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
'. In 1747 he went to Narwar
Narwar
Narwar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Shivpuri district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and the Narwar Fort is just east of the Kali Sindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km from Shivpuri. Narwar was known as Narwar District during the times of...
where he stayed some 18 years.
To escape Prime Minister Pombal's order for all Jesuits to be expelled from Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
controlled areas (in 1759), he left and travelled around North India,
He followed the entire course of the Ganges down to Calcutta, which had been newly established as a city by Job Charnock
Job Charnock
Job Charnock was a servant and administrator of the English East India Company, traditionally regarded as the founder of the city of Calcutta.-Early life and career:...
as a commercial settlement of the English. On returning to Agra in 1778, he received the news that the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, the religious order to which he belonged, had been suppressed by Pope Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...
. He stayed in India, and on his death in Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
was buried in the mission cemetery in Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
. Besides his native tongue he understood Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Hindustani
Hindustani language
Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
, Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
.
Publications
In geography, he wrote a Descriptio Indiæ, a circumstantial description of the twenty-two provinces of India, of its cities, fortresses, and the most important smaller towns, together with an exact statement of geographical positions, calculated by means of a simple quadrantQuadrant (instrument)
A quadrant is an instrument that is used to measure angles up to 90°. It was originally proposed by Ptolemy as a better kind of astrolabe. Several different variations of the instrument were later produced by medieval Muslim astronomers.-Types of quadrants:...
. The work also contains a large numbers of maps, plans, and sketches drawn by himself, and the list of geographical positions fills twenty-one quarto
Quarto
Quarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
pages. He also prepared a large book of maps on the Ganges Basin, entitled: Cursus Gangæ fluvi Indiæ maximi, inde Priaga seu Elahbado Calcuttam usque ope acus magneticæ exploratus atque litteris mandatus aJ. T. S. J. (1765). The original map of the lower course of the river measures 15',that of the middle course, from Benares to Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, measures 4' 3" square. In addition there is a map of similar dimensions of the Gagra, the whole accompanied by numerous notes, sketches of particular parts, and maps giving details. he also wrote a work on the regions containing the sources of the chief rivers of India.
In the field of religions he wrote Brahmanism, a work directed against the writings of the Englishmen Z. Howell and Alexander Dow
Alexander Dow
Alexander Dow was an Orientalist, writer, playwright and army officer in the East India Company.-Life:...
. Others of his writings were on Indian polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
, Indian asceticism
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
, the religion of the Parsees, Islam, the relation of these religions to one another, etc. His writings in the department of the natural sciences are: astronomical observations on the sunspot
Sunspot
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....
s and Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. Caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the zodiacal cloud, it is so faint that either moonlight or light pollution renders...
, studies on Hindu astronomy, astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, and cosmology, and descriptions and observation's of the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
of India. He also wrote in Latin on the origin of Hindus and of their religion, an account in German of the expeditions of Nadir Shah to India, the deeds of the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Shah Alam in Persian, and in French in incursions of the Afghans and the conquest of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, and the contemporary history of India, 1757-64. In linguistics he wrote a Sanskrit-Parsee lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
, treatises in Latin on the language of the Parsees, on the proper pronunciation of Latin, etc.
Tiefenthaler sent these works in manuscript partly to the Danish scholar Dr. Kratzenstein in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, partly to the French orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
and geographer A. H. Anquetil-Duperron
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron was the first professional French scholar of Indian culture. He conceived the institutional framework for the new profession. He inspired the founding of the Ecole francaise d'extreme orient a century after his death and, later still, the founding of the...
(1731–1805). The latter praised the value and importance of the works, especially those on geography, in his address before the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
(Journal des Scavans, Dec., 1776), and made the writing of Tiefenthaler partly accessible to the academic world in his Recherches hist. et géogr. sur l'Inde (1786), and also in his Carte général du cours du Gange et du Gagra dressée par les cartes particuliéres du P. Tieffenthaler (Paris, 1784). A part of the manuscripts in Copenhagen were obtained by the German scholar Johann Bernoulli of Berlin who used them in connection with the Recherches of Anquetil for the work Des Pater Joseph Tieffenthalers d. Ges. Jesu. und apost. Missionarius in Indien historisch-geographische Beschreibung von Hindustan . . . (3 vols., quarto, Berlin-Gotha, 1785–87). The greater part of the first two volumes is devoted to Tiefenthaler's writings, his maps, and sketches. the French edition, entitled Description hist. et géogr. de l'Inde . . . appeared in Berlin in three vols. (1786–91). A large part of his manuscripts are probably still extant in Paris and Copenhagen.