1939 28 Feb
193- |
The passing of Louis Alphonse Daniel Nicolas, signing A.L.M. Nicolas , (b. March 27 , 1864 in Rasht, Iran) in Paris. He was an historian and French orientalist, official interpreter of the Legation French abroad, and France's consul general in Tabriz.
After reading Gobineau's Trois ans en Asie, 1855-1858 he checked all the information Gobineau had written in his book, corrected some of it, and then began to translate the writings of the Báb. Attracted by this young doctrine, he converted to Bábism and thus became the first Western Bábí. He was the first to translate works of the Báb into French: The Arabic Bayán and the Persian Bayán, and wrote various works, including Seyyed Ali Mohamed dit le Báb (1905), an Essai sur le Chéikhisme (1911) and several articles in newspapers such as Review of the Muslim World. Nicolas became knight of the Legion of Honour in 1909.
Moojan Momen says of him, "No European scholar has contributed so much to our knowledge of the life and teachings of the Báb as Nicholas. His study of the life of the Báb and his translations of several of the most important books of the Báb remain of unsurpassed value." [BBR36]
His important collection of manuscripts were auctioned and the items relevant to the Bahá'í and Bábí Faiths were purchased by the Bahá'í World Centre.
See BW8p885-887 for An Interview with A. L. M. Nicolas of Paris by Edith Sanderson.
See a short biography by Nader Nasiri Moghaddam in Encyclopaedia Iranica Online.
A chronological list of his publications:
- Le Livre des Sept Preuves [Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih translated from Persian into French], Paris, 1902, 68 pp.
- A propos de deux manuscrits 'Bábís' de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Revue de l'Histoire des Religions, Paris, volume 47, 1903, pp. 58-73
- Le Béyan Arabe [Bayán al-'arabiyya translated from Arabic into French], Paris, 1905, 235 pp.
- Seyyed Ali Mohammed dit le Báb [biography of the Báb, selections translated into English in this volume], Paris, 1905, 458 pp.
- En Perse: Constitution [translation by A.L.M. Nicolas], Revue du Monde Musulman, Paris, volume 1, 1907 (décembre 1906), p. 86-100
- Sur la Volonté Primitive et l'Essence Divine d'après le Báb, Revue de l'Histoire des Religions, Paris, volume 55, 1907, pp. 208-212
- Essais sur le Chéïkhisme, 4 volumes :
- Cheïkh Ahmed Lahçahi, Paris, volume 1, 1910
- Séyyèd Kazem Rechti, Paris, volume 2, 1914
- Le Chéïkhisme. La Doctine, Paris, volume 3, 1911 [extract from Revue du Monde Musulman]
- La Science de Dieu, Paris, volume 4, 1911
- Le Club de la fraternité [translation of an article by Atrpet by A.L.M. Nicolas], Revue du Monde Musulman, Paris, volume 13, 1911, pp. 180-184
- Le Dossier russo-anglais de Seyyed Ali Mohammed dit le Báb, Revue du Monde Musulman, Paris, volume 14, 1911, pp. 357-363
- Le Béyan Persan [Bayán-i-fársí translated from Persian into French], four volumes, 1911-1914
- Abdoul-Béha et la situation, Revue du Monde Musulman, Paris, volume 21, 1912, pp. 261-267
- Le Béhahis et le Báb, Journal Asiatique, Paris, volume 222, 1933, pp. 257-264
- Qui est le successeur du Báb? Paris, 1933, 16 pp.
- Quelques Documents relatifs au Babisme, Journal Asiatique, Paris, volume 224, 1934, pp. 107-142
- Le Báb astronome, Revue de l'Histoire des Religions, Paris, volume 114, 1936, pp. 99-101
- Massacres de Babis en Perse, Paris, 1936, 42 pp.
[A Short Biography of A. L. M. Nicholas by Peter Terry 2008]
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A.L.M. Nicolas; - In Memoriam; - Births and deaths; * Translation; - First believers; Nader Nasiri Moghaddam; Edith Sanderson; Rasht, Iran; Iran; Paris, France; France |
the first Western Bábí; the first to translate a work of the Báb into French |
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