# Reuben Levy

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{{Short description|British academic (1891–1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Reuben Levy''' (28 April 1891 – 6 September 1966) was Professor of Persian at the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge). He wrote on Persian literature and Islamic history.

==Life==
Levy was educated at the [Friars School, Bangor](/source/Friars_School%2C_Bangor), the [University College of North Wales, Bangor](/source/University_College_of_North_Wales%2C_Bangor) and [Jesus College, Oxford](/source/Jesus_College%2C_Oxford), studying Persian, Turkish and the Semitic languages.<ref name=Times/><ref 
name=Whowas>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U48278|title=Levy, Reuben|work=[Who Was Who](/source/Who_Was_Who)|publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press)|date=December 2007|accessdate=11 November 2008}}</ref> His First Persian teacher was [Isa Sedigh](/source/Isa_Sedigh).

During the First World War, he was a [captain](/source/captain_(army)) in General Staff Intelligence in [Mesopotamia](/source/Mesopotamia) (1916 to 1918), and worked in the Iraq Political Service (1918 to 1920). He lectured in Persian at Oxford from 1920 to 1923 before living in the United States from 1923 to 1926.<ref name="Whowas" /> He moved to the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) in 1926 as Lecturer in Persian, and became Professor of Persian in 1950, the chair being created for him.<ref name="Times" /><ref name="Whowas" /> He was also a [Fellow](/source/Oxbridge_Fellow) of [Christ's College, Cambridge](/source/Christ's_College%2C_Cambridge).<ref name="Times">{{cite news|date=8 September 1966|page=14|work=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|title= Dr. Reuben Levy &ndash; Oriental Scholar}}</ref> During the Second World War, he was a [Squadron Leader](/source/Squadron_Leader) in RAF Intelligence.<ref name="Whowas" />

==Works==
His first book, ''Persian Literature'' (1923), was written when he was still a lecturer at Oxford. ''A Baghdad Chronicle'' (1929) was an account of the Muslim Middle Ages and Abbasid Caliphate. It led to his major work, ''The Sociology of Islam'' (2 volumes, 1931&ndash;33) (reissued in 1957 as ''The Social Structure of Islam''),<ref name=Levy2000>{{citation |date=2000 |orig-year=1957 |author=Levy, Reuben |title=Orientalism: Early Sources |volume=XII|chapter=The Social Structure of Islam |page=106 |place=London & New York |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCJgmiv7uZcC&q=islam+%22reuben+levy%22|isbn=0-415-20910-2 |accessdate=15 May 2010}}</ref> which was regarded as a new approach to Muslim history. He also produced translations and critical editions of texts, including the 11th century Persian text [Qabus nama](/source/Qabus_nama) (''A Mirror for Princes'', 1951), ''The Tales of Marzuban'' (1959) and ''The Shah-nama'' (1966).<ref name=Times/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Reuben}}
Category:1891 births
Category:1966 deaths
Category:People educated at Friars School, Bangor
Category:Alumni of Bangor University
Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
Category:Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge
Category:Translators from Persian
Category:20th-century British translators
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:Place of death missing
Category:British Army personnel of World War I
Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II

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