Overview

The first European scientific expedition to the Near East, dispatched in 1761, was an unlucky one for its crew. One after another they died, until the surveyor, Carsten Niebuhr, was left alone. Niebuhr continued exploring and, upon his return, published several important reports. These included maps that were used for a century, cuneiform inscriptions copied from the ruins at Persepolis, and botanical data gathered by the expedition's lost naturalist.

Background

Carsten Niebuhr was born in Ludingworth, Hanover, Germany, on March 17, 1733, into a farming family. He was orphaned while still an infant, and the family farm was sold, the proceeds being split between Niebuhr and his several brothers and sisters. The boy was set to farming work, but no longer had a farm of his own. Although his prospects seemed quite limited, the resourceful Niebuhr managed to learn surveying...