He was the son of hops dealer Sigmund Süssheim and his wife Clara, who moved to Nuremberg in 1870.
Under Fritz Hommel and Gotthelf Bergsträsser, he taught Arabic, Persian and Turkish, at the University of Munich.
Among his students were, the medievalist Ernst Kantorowicz, the Jewish historian of religion Gershom Scholem and the orientalist Franz Babinger.
He interpreted on 30 April 1917 during a visit to the Grand Vizier Talat Pasha, with whom he corresponded since his stay in Istanbul.
[6] He is described as a modest and reserved, but notable scholar[7] He is the younger brother of the Bavarian Justices and SPD Member of Parliament Dr. Max Süssheim.