SODEN, WOLFRAM FREIHERR VON

(1908–1996)

German Assyriologist. He studied with Benno Landsberger and wrote a doctoral dissertation, which was subsequently published and established his reputation as a grammarian (Der hymnisch-epische Dialekt des Akkadischen, 1933). In 1936 he was offered a teaching position at the University of Gottingen, and while his mentor Landsberger left Germany, he entered the paramilitary Sturmabteilungof the National Socialist Party. He spent the war years mainly in the intelligence service. In the process of “denazification” his resumption of an academic career stalled, but because of his outstanding ability and Landsberger’s recommendation, he was offered a position at the University of Vienna (1954), where he remained until 1961. He then moved on to Tubingen, where he stayed until his retirement in 1976. His publications on Akkadian grammar and his three-volume Akkadian dictionary continue to be indispensible tools for Assyriologists (Das akkadische Syllabar, 1948; Grundriss der akkadischen Sprache, 1952; Akkadisches Handworterbuch, 1959–1982).