Max von Oppenheim
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 |
| Signature | |
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. Bringing many of his finds to Berlin, he exhibited them in a private museum (The Tell Halaf Museum) in 1931. 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.