History of the HLCES

Ethiopian Studies in Hamburg began with the appointment of Prof. Ernst Hammerschmidt (1928-1993) as Full (C4) Professor of African Studies (1970-1990). Prof. Hammerschmidt founded the monographic series "Aethiopistische Forschungen" and headed the Ethiopian cataloguing unit of the Union Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts in German Collections.

In 1990, Prof. Siegbert Uhlig succeeded Prof. Hammerschmidt in the Chair of Ethiopian Studies (Chair "African studies with focus on Ethiopian studies, 1990-2004). Prof. Uhlig enlarged the activities of the Institute. He founded the scholarly journal Aethiopica, the series "Orientalia Biblica et Christiana" (co-edited with Ekkart Otto) and initiated the project ENCYCLOPAEDIA AETHIOPICA.

In 2009, Prof. Alessandro Bausi was appointed Full (W3) Professor of Ethiopian Studies and is currently running the HLCES.

The HLCES carries the name of the founder of Ethiopian Studies, the German Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704), who, together with his main informant and aide the Ethiopian abba Gregorius, set the ground for the modern scholarly research on the languages, peoples, history and literature of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. In his correspondence and works Ludolf was a strong advocate of the importance to research the history and cultures of north east Africa, values to which the members of the Centre are still strongly committed.