Vambery, Arminius

(Hermann Vamberger)

(1832–1913)

   Hungarian orientalist. Vambery was born into a Hungarian Orthodox Jewish family and from his childhood showed a remarkable linguistic aptitude. He mastered a number of European languages, also Arabic, Turkish, Persian and other oriental languages and dialects. In his twenties he lived in Constantinople, became a Moslem, worked on the staff of the Turkish foreign minister and got to know Sultan Abdul Hamid II. In 1863– 4 he was the first European to travel through the unknown parts of Central Asia, disguised as a Moslem dervish. His published account of this hazardous trek attracted international attention. He was appointed professor of oriental languages at the University of Budapest and was baptized in the Protestant church. He took a strong pro-British line in the international struggle for spheres of influence in the Balkans, the Near East and Central Asia. In spite of abandoning the Jewish faith, Vambery was attracted to the early Zionist movement. He introduced Dr HERZL to the sultan in 1901 and arranged political contacts in Constantinople for Herzl’s successor, David WOLFFSOHN.