Carsten Niebuhr

Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815), a German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark, is renowned for his participation in the Royal Danish Arabia Expedition (1761-1767).

The Danish Arabia expedition was a Danish scientific expedition to Egypt, Arabia and Syria. Its principal goal was to elucidate the Old Testament with additional research goals concerned with natural history, geography and cartography. It had six members of whom only Carsten Niebuhr survived, returning to Denmark in 1767. The journey has been chronicled by the 20th century novelist, Thorkild Hansen, in his novel Arabia Felix.

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