In 1699, Reland was appointed Professor of Physics and Metaphysics at the University of Harderwijk. By this point, he had achieved fluency in Arabic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages. In 1701, at age 25, he was appointed Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Utrecht. Beginning in 1713, he also taught Hebrew Antiquities. This was extended with a Chair in Jewish Antiquity. Reland gained renown for his research in Islamic studies and linguistics; his work being an early example of comparative linguistics. Additionally, he studied Persian and was interested in the relation of Eastern myths to the Old Testament. He published a work concerning East Asian myths, Dissertationum miscellanearum partes tres, in 1708. Moreover, he discovered the link for the Malay language to the Western Pacific dictionaries of Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire.
Reland, through compiling Arabic texts, completedDe religione Mohammedica libri duo in 1705. This work, extended in 1717, was considered the first objective survey of Islamic beliefs and practices. It quickly became a reference work throughout Europe and was translated into Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish. Reland also extensively researched Middle Eastern locations and biblical geography, taking interest in the Semitic peoples of Palestine. He published Antiquitates Sacrae veterum Hebraeorum and Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata, in which he described and mapped the geography of Palestine. Reland retained his professorship for his entire life, and additionally became a noted poet. In 1718, at age 41, he died of smallpox in Utrecht.
Selection of Published Works
De religione Mohammedica libri duo - the first European attempt to systematically describe Islamic religious practices. Utrecht 1705, 1717
*Dutch Translation Verhandeling van de godsdienst der Mahometaanen, als mede van het krygs-regt by haar ten tyde van oorlog tegens de christenen gebruykelyk. Utrecht 1718
* English translation: Of the Mahometan Religion, Two books. London 1712
*German translation: Zwey Bücher von der Türkischen oder Mohammedischen Religion. Hannover 1716, 1717
* French translation: La Religion des Mahometans exposée par leurs propres Docteurs, avec des éclaircissemens sur les opinions qu'on leur a Faussement attribuées. The Hague 1721
Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata - a detailed geographical survey of biblical Palestine, written in Latin. Published by Willem Broedelet. Utrecht 1714
* Dutch translation: Palestine opgeheldert, ofte they gelegentheyd van het Joodsche country.
