Hormuzd Rassam ܗܪܡܙܕ ܪܣܐܡ | |
|---|---|
 Hormuzd Rassam in Mosul c. 1854 | |
| Born | October 3, 1826 |
| Died | September 16, 1910 (aged 83) Hove, England |
| Occupation(s) | Archaeologist, Assyriologist, activist, author |
Hormuzd Rassam (Arabic: هرمز رسام; Syriac: ܗܪܡܙܕ ܪܣܐܡ; 1826 – 16 September 1910) was an Assyriologist and author. He is known for making a number of important archaeological discoveries from 1877 to 1882, including the clay tablets that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest notable literature. He is widely believed to be the first-known Middle Eastern and Assyrian archaeologist from the Ottoman empire. He emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he was naturalized as a British citizen, settling in Brighton. He represented the government as a diplomat, helping to free British diplomats from captivity in Ethiopia.