Heinrich Friedrich von Diez
Heinrich Friedrich von Diez (2 September 1751 – 7 April 1817) was a German diplomat and orientalist. He was ennobled in 1789 by Frederick the Great for his diplomatic service as the Prussian chargé d'affaires to the Ottoman Empire. In his later life he served as a benefice of the Co-Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Kołobrzeg, which helped fund his research. Biography Diez was born on 2 September 1751 in Bernburg, Anhalt-Bernburg. His father, Christian Friedrich Diez, was a textile merchant from Bernburg. His mother, Maria Elisabeth Zollicoffer, was from Magdeburg, Kingdom of Prussia. His family moved from Bernburg to Magdeburg shortly after his birth. He attended school in Magdeburg before studying law in 1769. Upon finishing his education, he practiced as a junior lawyer in the Prussian judicial service and was appointed Clerk of the Court. After working in the civil service for a few years, in 1784 he asked Frederick the Great for a diplomatic position in Constantinople. The emperor granted him his request and appointed Diez as the Prussian chargé d'affaires to the Ottoman Empire. He served in this capacity at the Topkapı Palace from 1786 until 1790. As a diplomat, he signed into action a formal