Editing Theodor Nöldeke (section)

== Research ==

=== ''Geschichte des Qorâns'' ===
Noldeke's ''[[Geschichte des Qorāns|Geschichte]]'' emerged out of the dissertation that he had begun writing during his university studies, which was completed in 1856 and titled ''De origine et compositione surarum qoranicarum ipsiusque Qorani''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nöldeke |first=Theodor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZ8pAAAAYAAJ |title=De origine et compositione surarum Qoranicarum ipsiusque Qorani |date=1856 |publisher=Officina academica Dieterichiana |language=la}}</ref> Compared to earlier works studying the [[Quran]] by Western writers, Nöldeke uncoupled the study of the text from inquiries into the life of [[Muhammad]] and, unlike predecessors of his such as [[William Muir]], did not have a missionary zeal. Instead, Nöldeke studied the Quran for its own sake. One of the most important aspects of Nöldeke's argument was his periodisation of the Quranic surahs into a tripartite Meccan phase followed by a Medinan phase (an idea already conceived by his predecessor, [[Gustav Weil]]). In this, Nöldeke, though he did not follow the traditional chronological division of surahs exactly, did follow it in some detail. At the same time, Nöldeke also considered his division to be malleable and tentative to a degree as opposed to absolute and deciding.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stefanidis |first=Emmanuelle |date=2008 |title=The Qur'an Made Linear: A Study of the Geschichte des Qorâns' Chronological Reordering |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25728286 |journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=1–22 |issn=1465-3591}}</ref>

Although Nöldeke's work has been followed closely by some and rejected by others,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shoemaker |first=Stephen |title=Early Islam: the sectarian milieu of late antiquity? |date=2022 |publisher=Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles |isbn=978-2-8004-1815-5 |editor-last=Dye |editor-first=Guillaume |series=Problèmes d'histoire des religions |location=Brussels |chapter=Method and Theory in the Study of Early Islam}}</ref> it has been so influential that at least one scholar has referred to his work as "the rock of our church".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |title=The Lost Archive |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120008793352784631 |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2013, a complete translation of the volume into English was published.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nöldeke |first1=Theodor |title=The history of the Qur'an |last2=Schwally |first2=Friedrich |last3=Bergsträsser |first3=Gotthelf |last4=Pretzl |first4=O. |last5=Behn |first5=Wolfgang |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-21234-3 |series=Texts and studies on the Qur'an |location=Leiden; Boston}}</ref>

=== Chronology of the Quran<!--'Nöldeke Chronology' redirects here--> ===
The [[List of chapters in the Quran|Nöldeke Chronology]] is a "canonical ordering" of the 114 [[surahs]] of the Qur'an according to the sequence of revelation.  Intended to aid theological, literary, and historical scholarship of Qur'anic exegesis by enhancing structural coherence.{{sfn|Ernst|2011|p=43}} The Nöldeke Chronology has been adopted for general guidance by some schools of current scholarship.{{sfn|Böwering|2008|p=73}}  Nöldeke considered the surahs from the perspective of content and stylistic development and linguistic origination to rearrange them in historical sequence of revelation. According to his system Sura 21: “The Prophets,” – 21st of 114 surahs in the Qur'an – is renumbered '65'. His chronology further divided the surahs into two periods: The Meccan (in three phases), and the Medina.

'''The Nöldeke Chronology of the Qur'an''': Four groups of the 114 Surahs:
*Group 1. First [[Muhammad in Mecca|Meccan Period]] (48 Surahs): [[Surah 96|Surahs 96]]; [[Surah 74|74]]; [[Surah 111|111]]; [[Surah 106|106]]; [[Surah 108|108]]; [[Surah 104|104]]; [[Surah 107|107]]; [[Surah 102|102]]; [[Surah 105|105]]; [[Surah 92|92]]; [[Surah 90|90]]; [[Surah 94|94]]; [[Surah 93|93]]; [[Surah 97|97]]; [[Surah 86|86]]; [[Surah 91|91]]; [[Surah 80|80]]; [[Surah 68|68]]; [[Surah 87|87]]; [[Surah 95|95]]; [[Surah 103|103]]; [[Surah 85|85]]; [[Surah 73|73]]; [[Surah 101|101]]; [[Surah 99|99]]; [[Surah 82|82]]; [[Surah 81|81]]; [[Surah 53|53]]; [[Surah 84|84]]; [[Surah 100|100]]; [[Surah 79|79]]; [[Surah 77|77]]; [[Surah 78|78]]; [[Surah 88|88]]; [[Surah 89|89]]; [[Surah 75|75]]; [[Surah 83|83]]; [[Surah 69|69]]; [[Surah 51|51]]; [[Surah 52|52]]; [[Surah 56|56]]; [[Surah 70|70]]; [[Surah 55|55]]; [[Surah 112|112]]; [[Surah 109|109]]; [[Surah 113|113]]; [[Surah 114|114]]; [[Surah 1|1]]
*Group 2. [[Second Meccan Period]] (21 Surahs): 54; 37; 71; 76; 44; 50; 20; 26; 15; 19; 38; 36; 43; 72; 67; 23; 21; 25; 17; 27; 18
*Group 3. [[Third Meccan Period]] (21 Surahs): 32; 41; 45; 16; 30; 11; 14; 12; 40; 28; 39; 29; 31; 42; 10; 34; 35; 7; 46; 6; 13
*Group 4. [[Muhammad in Medina|Medinan Period]] (24 Surahs): 2; 98; 64; 62; 8; 47; 3; 61; 57; 4; 65; 59; 33; 63; 24; 58; 22; 48; 66; 60; 110; 49; 9; 5

=== Mandaeism ===
In 1875, near the very beginning of the academic study of the religion of [[Mandaeism]], Nöldeke published the ''Mandäische grammatik'',<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nöldeke |first1=Theodor |title=Mandaean grammar / Mandäische Grammatik |last2=Nöldeke |first2=Theodor |date=2005 |publisher=Wipf & Stock |isbn=978-1-59752-238-0 |edition=Repr. |series=Ancient language resources |location=Eugene, Or}}</ref> a monumental work of Mandaean grammar that was of such philological depth that it remains the standard work on the subject to this day. It was also the basis of the subsequent ''Mandaic Dictionary'' by [[E. S. Drower]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meeks |first=Wayne |title=The Prophet-King: Moses Traditions and the Johannine Christology |date=2017 |publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers |pages=258–259}}</ref>

=== Alexander the Great ===
In 1890, Nöldeke initiated the study of [[Alexander the Great in legend|Alexander legends]] in the Arabic tradition with the publication of his ''Beiträge zur geschichte des Alexanderromans''.{{Sfn|Doufikar-Aerts|2010|p=3}}