Julius Euting: Diary of a Journey Through Inner Arabia, 1883–1884
Edited by William Facey & Michael Macdonald | Translated by Christopher Metcalf
Two Volume Hardcover | Publication: May 2025 | ISBN: 9781911487852
A forgotten diary. A fractured expedition. A window into Arabia’s lost past.
In the winter of 1883, German epigraphist Julius Euting and French-Alsatian geographer Charles Huber departed Damascus on a perilous journey into the heart of northern Arabia. Their mission: to uncover ancient inscriptions and reveal the region’s forgotten history.
What followed was a journey marked by hardship and discovery, but also by growing mistrust between two uneasy companions. Travelling through vast, arid landscapes, they made the earliest systematic records of Aramaic, Nabataean, and Ancient North Arabian inscriptions, including the now-famous Tayma Stele, whose discovery and significance are re-examined here in depth.
The first English edition of an essential travel journal
Presented in English for the first time, Diary of a Journey Through Inner Arabia, 1883–1884 brings to light Euting’s meticulous field notes, illustrated with his own sketches and watercolours. Beautifully produced and meticulously researched, this two-volume edition offers a rare and vivid perspective on one of the most important episodes in the history of Arabian exploration.
Beyond its detailed accounts of inscriptions and landscapes, the diary captures the political rivalries, personal tensions, and intellectual ambitions that shaped 19th-century European expeditions into the Middle East. It reveals a moment when archaeology, scholarship, and imperial curiosity converged in the deserts of Arabia—an encounter as complex as it was consequential.
Why this diary matters
This is more than a travelogue. It is a critical document for anyone interested in:
- Arabian history and archaeology—offering first-hand observations of ancient sites and inscriptions.
- Semitic philology—providing a foundation for the study of Ancient North Arabian scripts.
- The history of exploration—revealing the personalities, rivalries, and motivations of 19th-century scholars.
It is also an intimate portrait of Euting himself: a scholar-adventurer driven by intellectual curiosity, navigating a journey that tested both endurance and trust.
About the editors and translator
- William Facey is a historian and museum specialist whose work focuses on the history, architecture, and photography of the Arabian Peninsula. He has published extensively on Western travellers in Arabia and Arab maritime heritage and is a long-time trustee of the International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA).
- Michael C.A. Macdonald is a Fellow of the British Academy and Honorary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. An expert in the ancient scripts and inscriptions of northern Arabia, he has led major epigraphic surveys and directed the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia (OCIANA).
- Christopher Metcalf is a scholar of the ancient Near East and classical literature. A Fellow of The Queen’s College, Oxford, he brings deep linguistic and cultural insight to this first English translation of Euting’s travel writings
About Julius Euting
Julius Euting (1839–1913) was one of the leading Semitic epigraphers of the 19th century. Based at the University of Strasbourg, he made pioneering contributions to the study of ancient Semitic languages—particularly Punic, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Known for his scholarly rigour and adventurous spirit, Euting undertook several field expeditions, the most ambitious of which was this 1883 journey through northern Arabia with Charles Huber. His meticulous notes, drawings, and transcriptions formed a vital foundation for the emerging field of Arabian epigraphy and remain an invaluable resource today.
A vital record of Arabian exploration
Diary of a Journey Through Inner Arabia, 1883–1884 is an essential resource for historians, archaeologists, linguists, and anyone fascinated by the complex legacy of European exploration in the Middle East.
This first English edition brings a forgotten diary back into view, offering both a scholarly contribution and an engrossing narrative of travel, discovery, and the human tensions behind it all.
Order your copy and uncover one of the most significant travel journals in the history of Arabian exploration.