Eduard Glaser
In order to earn his livelihood, he began working as a private tutor in the home of an aristocratic family while, at the same time, he studied mathematics at the Polytechnic in Prague, along with physics, astronomy, geology, geography, geodesy and Arabic which he accomplished in 1875.
Müller suggested to him that he travel to Yemen, offering him a stipend that was to be provided by the Academy of Sciences of Vienna for the purpose of copying down Sabaean inscriptions.
Even though his position in the observatory gave him a sense of financial security, he preferred to resign from that post in 1880 – wishing instead to dedicate the remainder of his life to the study of South Arabia's ancient history (Dostal 1990, p. 17).
Since Glaser had to wait for many months in Sana'a before he could receive a permit enabling him to travel in Yemen, the French doubted whether he would ever deliver the promised inscriptions, and, so, eventually, they cut off their financial support to him in 1883.
[1][2] After his death Müller made sure that a great portion of Glaser's scientific legacy would be purchased by the Academy of Sciences in Vienna (Akademie der Wissenschaften).
A small portion of Eduard Glaser's manuscript collection was purchased by Dropsie College in Philadelphia in 1923 (later becoming part of the archives of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania).
In addition to his knowledge of Latin, Greek and most of the major European languages, Glaser showed himself proficient in both classical and colloquial Arabic, and knew also many of its dialects.
His natural inquisitiveness led him to analyse the historical processes and relevant cultural influences, eventually giving him the tools needed to investigate Yemen – a land that he saw as the ideal place for finding basic similarities between the rites of the indigenous peoples and those of the ancient Israelites.
Furthermore, his knowledge of Abyssinian history and its language propelled him to examine the connexions between Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia) and Yemen in ancient times.
Glaser's profound interest in the political and commercial ties of peoples stretching from Mesopotamia to the Indian Ocean gave him a sense of identifying with past civilisations; a feeling of shared affinity.
He proposed to reconstruct a dam at Marib with the aim of increasing the number of inhabitants in the east, as also the intent of strengthening the Sublime Porte's presence in Yemen.
Although Glaser viewed positively the reforms that were initiated by the Turks, touching upon almost every aspect of daily life in Yemen, including the lessening of restrictions formerly placed upon the Jews, he expressed more than once in his diary a certain criticism of the Turkish army and their arrogance in dealing with the Yemenite population.
He carried out research on the topography, the geology and geography, prepared cartographic maps, took astronomical notes and collected data on meteorology, climate and economic trade, as well as on the nation's crafts.
He proposed to give to the museums and archives certain items from his collections of manuscripts, diaries and imprints of the Sabaean inscriptions, including his ethnographic material, in order to "pay back" the investment and expenditures of his last trip, as also to generate funds for his future journey to Yemen.
Upon his return from his third trip to Yemen in 1889, Glaser suggested to the Foreign Ministry of Austria to either occupy or buy from the Ottoman Turks a place which he identified as being the biblical site of Ophir, in order to make it an Austrian colony (for the same reason Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff had made a similar proposal twenty years earlier to acquire Socotra.
[14] Yet, in spite of his skills in Arabic, his vast knowledge of Sabaean script and the great treasure-trove of inscriptions that he brought to Europe, including the manuscripts and the ethnographic material that he amassed, as also the data on the field-research he conducted in Yemen, a suitable academic position was denied him and he remained an outsider in the academic circles of Austria, Germany and France.
It was not surprising, therefore, that he was brought to deprivation of all basic needs as a result of that isolation, and was forced to find support by his brothers, sisters-in-law and friends.
At the present time only about half of Glaser's inscriptions have been published, and only a small portion of his diaries (now at the National Library in Vienna) and his scientific findings have been studied.
[19][20] Glaser suffered from heart ailments and respiratory problems, until he died in Munich on 7 May 1908 of an asthma attack; he is buried in that city’s Old Jewish Cemetery (Alter Jüdischer Friedhof).
