{{short description|Dutch scholar (1676–1718)}} {{Infobox person | name = Adriaan Reland | image = Relandgood.jpg | caption = Engraving of Reland, c. 1712 | birth_date = {{birth date|1676|7|17|df=y}} | birth_place = De Rijp, North Holland | death_date = {{death date and age|1718|2|5|1676|7|17|df=y}} | death_place = Utrecht | education = University of Utrecht | occupation = Orientalist, cartographer, philologist | known_for = Studies of Islam, Palestine, Persian, and Japan; early modern cartography of Asia and the Near East | notable_works = ''De religione Mohammedica libri duo''; ''Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata''; ''Antiquitates sacrae veterum Hebraeorum'' }} '''Adriaan Reland''' (also known as ''Adriaen Reeland/Reelant'', ''Hadrianus Relandus''; 17 July 1676 – 5 February 1718)<ref name = "Gorton">John Gorton, ''A General Biographical Dictionary'', 1838, Whittaker & Co.</ref> was a Dutch Orientalist scholar, cartographer and philologist.<ref>Power And Religion in Baroque Rome: Barberini Cultural Policies, P. J. A. N. Rietbergen, p.321</ref> Even though he never left the Netherlands,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bart |first=Jaski |last2=Lange |first2=Christian |last3=Pytlowany |first3=Anna |last4=Rinsum |first4=Henk J. van |year=2021 |title=Adriaan Reland (1676–1718): Early Modern Humanist, Philologist and Scholar of Comparative Religion |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004462175/BP000010.xml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241223124817/https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004462175/BP000010.xml |archive-date=23 December 2024 |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=Brill |doi=10.1163/9789004462175_002 |postscript=. Introduction to The Orient in Utrecht: Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion. The page includes a link to a PDF version.}}</ref><ref>{{Blockquote|text="Obviously, knowledge of Biblical, Talmudic, and secular sources forms the basis of Palestinian topography, but it is not enough. However valuable the work of Reland may be, it is incomplete because it lacks a direct relationship with the soil which is essential to geography ."|author=F.-M. Abel||title=Edward Robinson and the Identification of Biblical Sites|source=Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Dec., 1939), pp. 365-372}}</ref> he made significant contributions to Middle Eastern and Asian linguistics and cartography, including Persia, Japan and Palestine during the biblical ages (the Holy Land).<ref name="Shalev">Zur Shalev, University of Haifa Digital Gallery, introduction to Reland's book ''Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata''</ref>
==Early life== Reland was the son of Johannes Reland, a Protestant minister, and Aagje Prins in the small North Holland village of De Rijp. Adriaan's brother, Peter (1678–1714), was an influential lawyer in Haarlem.<ref name = "Gorton"/> Reland first studied Latin language in Amsterdam at age 11, and enrolled at University of Utrecht in 1693, at age 17, to study theology and philosophy. Initially interested in Hebrew and Syriac, he later began studying Arabic. In 1699, after obtaining his doctorate in Utrecht, Reland moved to Leiden and tutored the son of Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=[Webpage no title] |url=http://dap.library.uu.nl/cgi-bin/dap/dap?diss_id=20158 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002035920/http://dap.library.uu.nl/cgi-bin/dap/dap?diss_id=20158 |archive-date=2011-10-02 |access-date=2007-10-02 |website=dap.library.uu.nl}}</ref> The latter invited him to move to England, but Reland declined because of his father's deteriorating health.
==Academic career== In 1699, Reland was appointed Professor of Physics and Metaphysics at the University of Harderwijk. By this point, he had achieved a good knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adriaan Reland (1676–1718) |url=http://bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl/bc/olg/portret/content.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413144131/http://bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl/bc/olg/portret/content.html |archive-date=April 13, 2008 |website=bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl}}</ref> In 1701, at age 25, he was appointed Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Utrecht. Beginning in 1713, he also taught Hebrew Antiquities.<ref name="Shalev"/> This was extended with a chair in Jewish Antiquity.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://atena.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=13390016&search_terms=DTL45 |title=De spoliis templi Hierosolymitani in arcu Titiano Romae conspicuis Liber singularis |year=1717 |location=Leipzig |pages=69}}</ref> Reland was never able to visit the regions he described in his works, due to his sickly father.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rinsum |first1=Henk van |editor1-last=Heerma Voss |editor1-first=Lex |title=Wereldgeschiedenis van Nederland |date=2019 |publisher=Ambo/Anthos |location=Amsterdam |page=302 |chapter=1705: Een nieuwe visie op de islam}}</ref>
Reland gained renown for his research in Islamic studies and linguistics; his work being an early example of comparative linguistics. Additionally, he studied Persian and was interested in the relation of Eastern myths to the Old Testament. He published a work concerning East Asian myths, ''Dissertationum miscellanearum partes tres'', in 1708. Moreover, he discovered the link for the Malay language to the Western Pacific dictionaries of Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire.
==Research on Middle East== [[File:RELAND, Adriaan. Prima elementa linguae persicae nitidissime conscriptae Adriani Relandi. 1705. (Utrecht), 1705. 34.5 × 22 cm. Persian manuscript.jpg|thumb|Manuscript of Reland's work on the foundations of the Persian language (''Prima elementa linguae persicae nitidissime conscriptae Adriani Relandi''). Printed in Utrecht, dated 1705]]
Reland, through compiling Arabic texts, completed ''De religione Mohammedica libri duo'' in 1705. This work, extended in 1717, was considered the first objective survey of Islamic beliefs and practices.<ref name="St John">{{Cite web |title=Adriaan Reelant, De religione Mohammedica libri duo (Utrecht, 1717) |url=https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library/special_collections/early_books/mecca.htm |access-date=August 29, 2019 |website=St John's College}}</ref> It quickly became a reference work throughout Europe and was translated into Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish.
Reland also extensively researched Middle Eastern locations and biblical geography, taking interest in Palestine. He published ''Antiquitates Sacrae veterum Hebraeorum'' (1708) and ''Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata'' (1714), in which he described and mapped the biblical peoples, and ancient geography of Palestine.<ref name="Shalev"/>
Reland retained his professorship for his entire life, and additionally became a noted poet. In 1718, at age 41, he died of smallpox in Utrecht.<ref name = "Gorton"/>
== Cartography == alt=Colored early eighteenth-century map of the Persian Empire with Latin place names, surrounded by neighboring regions and seas, and a decorative cartouche at left showing pearl divers.|left|thumb|"Nova Imperii Persici deliniatio", a map of the Persian Empire based on the geographical research of Adriaan Reland and engraved by Matthaeus Seutter, Augsburg, c. 1727. Reland also produced several maps based on his research into the geography of Asia and the Near East. His cartographic work formed part of his broader scholarly interest in the languages, history, and religions of eastern regions.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Adriaan Reland |url=https://crouchrarebooks.com/mapmakers/reland-adriaan/ |website=Crouch Rare Books |access-date=20 April 2026}}</ref>
Among his geographical works was a map of the Persian Empire published in 1705. The map attempted to reconcile information from Persian and Arabic geographical traditions with existing European cartography and introduced Persian place-names more systematically to European readers.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Reland – Map of Persia (1705) |url=https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/persia-reland-1705 |website=Geographicus Rare Antique Maps |access-date=20 April 2026}}</ref>
Reland also published a map of Japan in 1715. Unlike many contemporary European maps, it relied heavily on Japanese geographical sources. The map later served as the basis for the map of Japan included in Engelbert Kaempfer's ''History of Japan'' (1729).<ref name=":0" />
In addition to these works, Reland produced maps relating to Palestine and other parts of Asia, reflecting his attempt to combine linguistic scholarship with geographical reconstruction of regions described in historical texts.<ref name=":1" /> ==Selection of published works== thumb|Frontispiece of Adriaan Reland's ''Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata'' * ''De religione Mohammedica libri duo'' – the first European attempt to systematically describe Islamic religious practices. Utrecht 1705, 1717 **Dutch Translation ''Verhandeling van de godsdienst der Mahometaanen, als mede van het krygs-regt by haar ten tyde van oorlog tegens de christenen gebruykelyk.'' Utrecht 1718 ** English translation: ''Of the Mahometan Religion'', Two books. London 1712 **German translation: ''Zwey Bücher von der Türkischen oder Mohammedischen Religion''. Hannover 1716, 1717 ** French translation: ''La Religion des Mahometans exposée par leurs propres Docteurs, avec des éclaircissemens sur les opinions qu'on leur a Faussement attribuées''. The Hague 1721 * ''Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata'' – a detailed geographical survey of biblical Palestine, written in Latin. Published by Willem Broedelet. Utrecht 1714<ref name="ZurShalev">{{Cite web |title=Books in Foreign Languages |url=http://lib.haifa.ac.il/collections/dproj/index.php/en/rare-books-digital-gallery/17-rare-books/88-otherlangbooks |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140811184903/http://lib.haifa.ac.il/collections/dproj/index.php/en/rare-books-digital-gallery/17-rare-books/88-otherlangbooks |archive-date=August 11, 2014 |access-date=August 29, 2019 |website=lib.haifa.ac.il}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Relandus |first=Hadrianus |url=http://archive.org/details/gri_hadrianirela00aree |title=Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata |date=1714 |publisher=Guilielmi Broedelet |location=Trajectum Batavorum |language=la |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> ** ''Dutch translation: Palestina opgeheldert. Ofte de Gelegentheyd van het Joodsche land.'' * ''Analecta rabbinica.'' Utrecht 1702, 1723 * ''Dissertationum miscellanearum partes tres.'' Utrecht 1706–1708, 3 Teile * ''Antiquitates sacrae veterum Hebraeorum.'' Utrecht 1708, 3. uppl. 1717, 1741 * ''De nummis veterum Hebraeorum.'' Utrecht 1709 * ''Brevis introductio ad grammaticam Hebraeam Altingianam.'' Utrecht 2. uppl. 1710, 1722<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2lMTAAAAQAAJ&q=introductio+ad+Grammaticam+Hebraeam+Altingianam |title=Brevis introductio ad grammaticam hebraeam Altingianam: in usum Academicae Trajectinae; accedit ad exercitium Analyseos liber Ruth |date=1710 |publisher=Thomae Appels |edition=2nd |location=Trajectum ad Rhenum |language=la |via=Google Books}}</ref> *''De natuurlijke wijsgeer'' – a Dutch translation of Ibn Tufail's Arabic novel ''Hayy ibn Yaqdhan''. Printed by Pieter van der Veer. Amsterdam 1701 *''Galatea. Lusus poetica'' – a collection of Latin love-elegies, which brought Reland some fame as a Neo-Latin poet. Amsterdam 1701 [[File:Acta Eruditorum - III bassorilievi, 1717 – BEIC 13390016.jpg|thumb|Image from critique of ''Hadriani Relandi de spoliis templi Hierosolymitani'' published in ''Acta Eruditorum'', 1717]] [[File:Acta Eruditorum - II menorah, 1717 – BEIC 13390016.jpg|thumb|Image from critique of ''Hadriani Relandi de spoliis templi Hierosolymitani'' published in ''Acta Eruditorum'', 1717]]
==Gallery== <gallery> Map_of_Western_Java_(1718).jpg|Map of Western Java, 1718. </gallery>
==Bibliography== * [https://brill.com/edcollbook-oa/title/60094 The Orient in Utrecht: Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion]. Jaski, Bart; Lange, Christian; Pytlowany, Anna; Rinsum, Henk J. van editors. Leiden and Boston, Brill, 2021. Link to PDF. ISBN 978-90-04-46217-5. Also [http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv1v7zb8g The Orient in Utrecht: Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion] at JSTOR * Patrick Poppe: „Veritas ubicunque est indagari debet ...“ Das Vorwort von Adrian Relands (1676–1718) De Religione Mohammedica als ‚aufklärerisches‘ Programm, In: Johannes Birgfeld, Stephanie Catani, Anne Conrad Hrsg.: Aufklärungen. Strategien und Kontroversen vom 17. bis 21. Jahrhundert. Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2022, S. 277–289.
==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category-inline}} * [http://www.dbnl.org/auteurs/auteur.php?id=rela001 Literature on Reland in Dutch Digital Library (DBNL)] * [http://www.nationaalarchief.nl/AMH/detail.aspx?page=dpers&lang=en&id=581 Maps by Reland] {{dead link|date=June 2014}} * [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Adriaan+Reland&qt=results_page Complete bibliography on WorldCat] * [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OzkoAAAAYAAJ/mode/2up ''Hadriani Relandi Analecta Rabbinica'']. Trajecti ad Rhenum [= Utrecht], Ex libraria Jacobi à Poolsum et Jacobi Broedelet 2-nd ed. 1723 at the Internet Archive * [https://archive.org/details/b30535062/mode/2up ''Hadriani Relandi Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata'']. Trajecti Batavorum [= Utrecht], ex libraria Gulielmi Broedelet, 1714 at the Internet Archive * [http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/Dutch/Latijn/RelandusJPG.html The Heinsius-Collectie: Adriaan Reland, 1676–1718] *[https://www.nli.org.il/en/maps/NNL_ALEPH990023689740205171/NLI#$FL200879010 Map of Palestine by Reland, 1714] Eran Laor Cartographic Collection. The National Library of Israel {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reland, Adrian}} Category:1676 births Category:1718 deaths Category:People from Graft-De Rijp Category:17th-century writers in Latin Category:18th-century writers in Latin Category:18th-century male writers Category:Christian Hebraists Category:Linguists from the Dutch Republic Category:Dutch orientalists Category:Dutch male poets Category:Neo-Latin poets Category:Academic staff of the University of Harderwijk Category:Cartographers of the Middle East Category:17th-century Dutch cartographers Category:Historical geographers Category:Palestinologists