Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson (1810–1895)[1]

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dictionary in Clay

Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1^st Baronet, G.C.B., F.R.S., K.L.S. (1810–1895) was a British officer and pioneer of Assyriology and a fascinating man. Born on April 5^th, 1810 in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, he began to learn the Persian language in 1827.[2] Seeing this as an opportunity, Rawlinson began to study Persian inscriptions, particularly those written in the cuneiform character.

The rivalry between Britain and France in the 19^th century was taken to a whole new level when the French government encouraged its consular officials to excavate in the Near East in search of ancient treasures. Paul Emile Botta, a quiet introspective man, was sent to Mosul by the French to find and excavate the ancient city of Nineveh. His efforts proved successful when he discovered the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II at Khorsabad. This sparked a race between the major museums of the world to secure the best prize specimens and collections. The British diplomats, while aiding and encouraging these excavations, were usually obliged to stay close to their offices in Baghdad and rarely participated in the digging themselves. The competition was fierce and the stakes were high as governments sought to add valuable artifacts to their national collections.[3]

Sir Henry Rawlinson is remembered for his incredible accomplishments, such as his efforts that led to a successful interpretation of the Behistun inscription and the large amount of antiquarian and geographical information accumulated in the pursuit of various explorations, including a visit to the ruins of Nineveh alongside Sir Austen Henry Layard. Though sent to Persia to organize and drill the Shah’s troops, disagreements between the Persian court and the British government, involving Russia, led to the officers’ departure.[4]

Not only did he command immense respect in the bazaars of the region including his dog, but his residency was home to a menagerie of exotic animals, like lions and leopards. Fagan reports a heartwarming story about one of his big cats:

He amused himself by taming wild animals, including a young lion and a leopard named Fahad. Fahad stayed with Rawlinson for many years, eventually finding a permanent home in England in the Bristol Zoo. Rawlinson used to visit Fahad frequently, stepping up to the bars of the cage and a calling his friend. Fahad would approach, lie on his back, and let Rawlinson tickle his head and ear. One day a keeper rushed in. “Sir, sir,” he cried, “what are you doing? The animal’s very savage and will bite you.” Rawlinson merely smiled calmly. “No, I don’t think he’ll bite me. Will you Fahad? Fahad answered with a loud purr and would not let him stop his caresses.[5]

Rawlinson, a British army officer, found himself in India in 1827 as a cadet for the East India Company. On a voyage to India around Cape Horn, the young cadet of seventeen was inspired with a fascination for archaeology by the Governor of Bombay, Sir John Malcom, a prominent Orientalist. To pass the time on the long voyage, Rawlinson edited a ships newspaper on a trip around Cape Horn that caught the eye of the governor, forging a friendship that would influence him for the rest of his life.[6] In 1835, Rawlinson was in Persia (Iran) helping reorganize the Shah’s troops.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Not to be confused with Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1^st Baron Rawlinson of Trent.

[2] Frederic J. Goldsmid, “Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Bart., G. C. B., Etc.,” The Geographical Journal 5, no. 5 (1895): 490–97. Hugh Chisholm, ed. “Rich, Claudius James”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11^th ed.). (Cambridge University Press. 1911), 292.

[3] Fagan, Return to Babylon, 86.

[4] Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac, Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and Race for Empire in Central Asia (Washington: Counterpoint, 1999), 154.

[5] Yuval N. Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, trans. John Purcell and Haim Watzman (New York: Harper, 2015), Chapter 15.

[6] Ceram, Gods, Graves & Scholars, 26.

Information on Sir. Henry Rawlinson (1810 – 1895) can be found in the history of archaeology and in a good Bible Dictionary or Encyclopedia LINK under the sites that he excavated. Questions that you should answer in your paper include:

Where did he take his training?
What was his specialty?
Where did he excavate?
Who were the famous people he excavate with?
What discoveries did he make or was involved in?
What is Rawlinson's relationship to the Behistun Inscription?
What was influence on cuneiform writing (especially the tablets from Nimrud and Nineveh)?
What was the Biblical impact of his research?

Helpful Resources:

Adkins, Lesley. Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon. New York, N.Y.: Harper Perennial, 2012. Look Inside
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. “Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. 11th ed. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1911. LINK.
Couture, Philip G. “'BA' Portrait: Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson: Pioneer Cuneiformist.” The Biblical Archaeologist 47, No. 3, (Sep., 1984): 143-45. JSTOR
Fagan, Brian. “Henry Rawlinson.” Pages 55-57 in Archaeologists: Explorers of the Human Past. Oxford Profiles. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2003. Look Inside

Fisher, Milton C. “Who’s Who In Archaeology? Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson.” Bible and Spade 1, no. 4 (Autumn 1988): 6-8. LINK
Goldsmid, Frederic J. “Obituary: Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Bart., G. C. B., etc.” The Geographical Journal 5, No. 5 (May, 1895): 490-497. JSTOR

Meyer, Karl Ernest; Brysac, Shareen Blair. Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game And the Race for Empire in Central Asia. New York: Counterpoint, 1999. Look Inside

Rawlinson, George. A Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson. London, U.K.: Longmans, Green & Co. 1898. LINK to several format including PDF.

The following are not found online but would be helpful if you can find them in your local library:

Fagan, Brian M. A Brief History of Archaeology: Classical Times to the Twenty-First Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN: 978-0131776982.
Fagan, Brian M. Return to Babylon: Travelers, Archaeologists and Monuments in Mesopotamia. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown & Co., 1979.
Fagan, Brian M. The Adventure of Archaeology. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1985. ISBN: 978-0870448140.