David Samuel Margoliouth was the most prominent Arabist and Islamicist in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His scholarly prowess showed in, above all, his talent for ancient and medieval languages. In addition to Arabic, he mastered Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Syriac, Sabaic, Turkish, Persian, Armenian, and Sanskrit. He wrote across an unusually broad range of subjects, publishing editions and translations of important Arabic texts, some of which remain authoritative today.  He also produced works of generational significance on the life of the Prophet Muḥammad, the development of early Islamic thought, and Classical Arabic literature.  Some of these works were composed for popular audiences, reflecting Margoliouth’s reach well beyond the cloisters of Oxford.

Research notes of D. S. Margoliouth (1880s)
Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS. Or. Margoliouth 10

 

The Bodleian Libraries, Oxford