Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren

He studied philosophy, theology and history at Göttingen, and thereafter travelled in France, Italy and the Netherlands. In 1787 he was appointed one of the professors of philosophy, and then of history, at Göttingen, and he afterwards was chosen aulic[?] councillor, privy councillor, etc., the usual rewards of successful German scholars.

Heeren's great merit as an historian was that he regarded the states of antiquity from an altogether fresh point of view. Instead of limiting himself to a narration of their political events, he examined their economic relations, their constitutions and their financial systems, and thus was enabled to throw a new light on the development of the old world. He possessed vast and varied learning, perfect calmness and impartiality, and great power of historical insight, and is now looked back to as the pioneer in the movement for the economic interpretation of history.

Heeren's chief works are:

• Ideen über Politik, den Verkehr, und den Handel der vornehmsten Völker der alten Welt (2 vols., Göttingen, 1793-1796; 4th ed., 6 vols., 1824-1826; Eng. trans., Oxford, 1833)
• Geschichte des Studiums der klasszschen Litteratur seit dem Wiederaufleben der Wissenschaften (2 vols., Göttingen, 1797-1802; new ed., 1822)
• Geschichte der Staaten des Altertums (Göttingen, 1799; Eng. trans., Oxford, 1840)
• Geschichte des europäischen Staatensystems (Göttingen, 1800; 5th ed., 1830; Eng. trans., 1834)
• Versuch einer Entwickelung der Folgen der Kreuzzüge für Europa (Göttingen, 1808; French trans., Paris, 1808), a prize essay of the Institute of France.

Besides these, Heeren wrote brief biographical sketches of Johannes von Müller (Leipzig, 1809); Ludwig Spittler[?] (Berlin, 1812); and Christian Heyne (Göttingen, 1813). With Friedrich August Ukert[?] (1780-1851) he founded the famous historical collection, Geschichte der europäischen Staaten (Gotha, 1819 seq.), and contributed many papers to learned periodicals.

A collection of his historical works, with autobiographical notice, was published in 15 volumes (Göttingen, 1821-1830).

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.