Born in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, into an Orthodox family, he was well versed in the Bible by the age of five and at eight began his Talmudic studies. He attended a Cistercian high school. At 12 he published a booklet on liturgical poetry and at his Bar-mitzvah gave an hour-long sermon from the pulpit. The family moved to Budapest and at university he studied Arabic, Turkish and Persian. In 1869 Goldziher began to study Judeo-Arabic in Berlin, got his doctorate in Leipzig and received a scholarship to study in the Middle East. Returning to Budapest he was appointed an assistant professor but because of his religion, only became a full professor in 1904. He earned his living as secretary of the Jewish community of Pest. He lectured at the Rabbinical Seminary but as he was not an ordained rabbi could not be appointed professor. He was however honored by universities and academies in many countries for his contribution to oriental studies and was hailed as a founder of the scholarship of Islam.

Bibliography:

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. Introduction to Islamic theology and law. Translated by Andras and Ruth Hamori; with an introd. and additional notes by Bernard Lewis. Pp. Xv, 302. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1981

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. Muslim studies. Edited by S. M. Stern. Translated from the German by C. R. Barber and S. M. Stern. 2 v. Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co. [1973, c1966-71]

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. Mythology among the Hebrews and its historical development. Translated from the German, with additions by the author, by Russell Martineau. Pp. Xxxv, 457. London: Longmans, Green, 1877

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. On the history of grammar among the Arabs: an essay in literary history; translated and edited by Kinga Dévényi, Tamás Iványi. Pp. xx, 153. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: J. Benjamins Pub. Co., c1994

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. A short history of classical Arabic literature. Translated, rev. and enl. by Joseph Desomogyi. Pp. x, 172. Hildesheim: G. Olms, 1966

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. Geschichte von Sul und Schumul : unbekannte Erzählung aus Tausend und einer Nacht: arabischer Text, herausgegeben nach dem Tübinger Unikum und ins Deutsche übersetzt / Christian F. Seybold; nebst Geschichte von Sul und Schumul, Anzeige von Ignaz Goldziher. 2 v. Amsterdam: APA-Oriental Press, 1981

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. Die Richtungen der islamischen Koranauslegung, an der Universitaet Upsala gehaltene Olaus-Petri-Vorlesungen von Ignaz Goldziher. 2. photomechanischer Nachdruck.
2nd photomechanical reprint. Pp. x, 392. Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1970

GOLDZIHER, Ignaz. Études sur la tradition islamique: extraites du tome II des Muhammedanische Studien. Traduites par Léon Bercher. Pp. ii, 355. Paris, Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1952

Links:

In the Land of Hagar - A virtual exhibition on the Jews of Hungary