German traveller Ulrich Jaspar Seetzen carried out extensive explorations in the Middle East.
Seetzen was born at Sophiengroden near Jever and studied medicine and natural sciences at Goettingen, gaining his doctorate with a thesis on plant diseases. Following his graduation he explored northern Germany and Holland.
Inspired by the travels of Alexander von Humboldt and Friedrich Hornemann, Seetzen wished to lead a life of exploration. With this in mind he obtained the patronage of the Duke of Gotha and embarked on a journey to Palestine in 1802. Accompanied by a surgeon named Jacobsen, he began travelling down the Danube, before making his way south to Constantinople (Istanbul) and Smyrna. Here they separated, Jacobsen having suffered ill health.
Seetzen continued to Aleppo and Damascus, where he stayed from late 1803 until April 1805, learning Arabic. Then, disguised as a Muslim, he proceeded to Palestine, in particular exploring the coast of the Dead Sea and Sinai. From Palestine he travelled to Cairo, and from Egypt crossed to Jeddah, reaching Mecca in late 1809. His explorations in Arabia were wide-ranging, described in his many letters home, the last of which were sent from Mocha, in present-day Yemen, in November 1810. It was here that Seetzen died as a result of poisoning in 1811. The circumstances behind his murder remain a mystery.
As well as forwarding his observations of Middle Eastern society, which were published in Monatliche Correspondenz and Fundgruben, Seetzen made natural history collections, in particular gathering plants. He also acquired manuscripts and other material for Gotha. Many of his collections, however, never reached Europe following his death. Those that were received formed the basis of the Oriental museum in Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha.
Seetzen's diaries, meanwhile, were received by Professer Friedrich Kruse of Dorpat. Kruse and H.L. Fleischer published there as Reisen durch Syrien, Palästina, Phönicien, die Transjordan-Länder, Arabia Petraea und Unter-Aegypten in 1854-1859. The genus Seetzenia R.Br. was named in his honour.
Sources:
J. Oelsner (ed), 1995, Ulrich Jasper Seetzen (1767-1811). Leben und Werk.
