Max von Oppenheim | |
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 circa 1917 | |
| Born | Max von Oppenheim 15 July 1860 Cologne, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 17 November 1946 (aged 86) Landshut, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Alma mater | University of Strasbourg, University of Göttingen |
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Baron Max von Oppenheim (15 July 1860 – 17 November 1946) was a German lawyer, diplomat, ancient historian, pan-Islamist and archaeologist. He was a member of the Oppenheim banking dynasty. Abandoning his career in diplomacy, he discovered the site of Tell Halaf in 1899 and conducted excavations there in 1911–13 and again in 1927–29.[1] Bringing many of his finds to Berlin, he exhibited them in a private museum (The Tell Halaf Museum) in 1931.[1] This was destroyed by Allied bombing in World War II; however, most of the findings were recently restored and have been exhibited again at Berlin and Bonn.
Oppenheim was a controversial figure before and during World War I because he was considered a spy by the French and British. In fact, he engaged in anti-Allied propaganda, which was aimed at stirring up the Muslim populations of the Allied-controlled territories against their colonial masters.
- ^ a b Kim Benzel, Rayyane Tabet / Alien Property: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 77, no. 2 (2019) 10.