Assemani

Assemani, (1) JOSEPH SIMON, a famous orientalist, born of a Maronite family at Tripoli, in Syria, in 1687. After completing his studies at Rome, he travelled on the pope's commission through Egypt and Syria, collecting many oriental MSS. and coins for the Vatican Library, of which he was appointed keeper. He died at Rome, January 14, 1768. Of his numerous learned works, the most important is his Bibliotheca orientalis Clementino-Vaticana (4 vols. Rome, 1719-28), containing the Syrian MSS. of the Vatican. He was succeeded as keeper of the Vatican Library by his nephew, (2) STEPHEN EPHODIUS (1707-82), also a learned author of books on oriental learning. Yet another nephew and orientalist was (3) JOSEPH ALOYSIUS (1710-82), professor at Rome.—(4) SIMON, a relative of the preceding, was born at Tripoli in 1752, filled the chair of oriental languages at Padua, and died there, April 8, 1821. One of the greatest orientalists of his time, he wrote an important work on ancient coins, Musco cufico Naniano illustrato (2 vols. Padua, 1787-88).