HEEREN, ARNOLD HERMANN LUDWIG (1760 1842), German historian, was born on Oct. 25, 1760 at Arbergen, near Bremen. He studied history at Gottingen, and was appointed (1787) one of the professors of philosophy, and then of history in his university. He died at Gottingen on March 6, 1842. Heeren regarded the states of antiquity from an altogether fresh point of view ; he examined their economic relations, their constitutions, their financial systems, and thus threw a new light on the develop ment of the ancient world. He was a pioneer in the movement for the economic interpretation of history.
Heeren's chief works are: Ideen fiber Politik, den Verkehr, and den Handel der vornehmsten Volker der alten Welt (2 vols., Gottingen, 1793-96; 4th ed., 6 vols., 1824-26; Eng. trans. 1833) ; Geschichte des Studiums der klassischen Litteratur seit dem Wiederaufieben der Wis senschaften (2 vols., Gottingen, 1797-1802 ; new ed., 1822) ; Geschichte der Staaten des Altertums (Gottingen, 1799; Eng. trans., Oxford, 184o) ; Geschichte des europaischen Staatensystems (Gottingen, 1800; 5th ed., 183o; Eng. trans., 1834) ; Versuch einer Entwickelung der Folgen der Kreuzz iige (Gottingen, 1808 ; French trans. 18o8) , a prize essay of the Institute of France. With Friedrich August Ukert (178o 1851) he founded the famous historical collection, Geschichte der euro paischen Staaten (Gotha, 1819 seq.) , which reached its 158th volume in 1925, and contributed many papers to learned periodicals.