Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin
Historian of Islamic Science
Life and Academic Career
Fuat Sezgin was born in Bitlis on October 24, 1924.
After completing his secondary and high school education
in Erzurum, he moved to Istanbul in 1943.
Sezgin graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University
in 1951 and subsequently completed his doctoral studies
in Arabic Language and Literature.
After completing his doctoral dissertation entitled
“The Sources of al-Bukhari”, Sezgin became
an associate professor in 1954. In this study, he argued that
al-Bukhari, who holds an important place in Islamic culture as
a major source of hadith, relied not only on oral traditions,
as was widely believed, but also on written sources.
Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin also commissioned replicas of scientific
instruments and devices prepared for the Institute for the History
of Arabic-Islamic Science. Through these efforts, he played a
pioneering role in the establishment of the Istanbul Museum of
the History of Science and Technology in Islam, affiliated with
the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which opened on May 25, 2008.
Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, a distinguished scholar of the history
of Islamic science, passed away on June 30, 2018, at the age of 93.
Awards and Honors
1978
King Faisal Prize
1980
Goethe Plaque of the City of Frankfurt am Main
1982
Federal Republic of Germany First-Class Service Medal
2001
Federal Republic of Germany Distinguished Service Medal
2004
Iran Islamic Sciences Book Award
2009
Hessian Culture Prize
2013
Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Grand Award for Culture and Arts
Publications
The works and publications of Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin
can be accessed through the link below.
View His Publications
Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Year
The year 2019 was officially declared
“The Year of Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin”
by the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye.
Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Central Library
In accordance with Resolution No. 7 adopted at the
2018-15 session of our University Senate on December 13, 2018,
the Central Library of our Department was officially renamed
Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Central Library.
