Beginnings of Shii Studies in Germany

Rudolf Strothmann (1877-1960) played a pioneering role in the scholarly exploration of Shii Islam in Western, especially German, scholarship. Between 1910 & 1923, he published many pathbreaking studies on the Zaydiyya, consulting primarily the recently purchased collections of Yemeni Zaydi manuscripts in Berlin. At the same time, he began to delve into Twelver Shii literature, culminating in his 1926 monograph on two prominent 7th- & 13th-cent. Imami scholars. This study examines the earlier decades of Strothmanns life and his development as a theologian and a scholar of Semitic languages & Islamic culture. It also sheds light on his scholarly work through his correspondence with several scholars. Illus.