Eugen Mittwoch Mittwoch was the leading orientalist in Germany, and the founder of a more politically oriented, modern science of Middle East Studies, in contrast to the traditional philologic, apolitical approach very much influenced by Goethe. In 1924, Mittwoch stayed in Jerusalem, where he participated in the founding of a Department for Semitic Studies at Hebrew University. Since he was the leading specialist on Ethiopian languages world-wide, Mittwoch did not lose his academic position in 1933 immediately like almost all his Jewish colleagues in Germany did at that time. This had to do with a special intervention by Mussolini with Hitler on
Eight-day week popularity of the seven-day rhythm won and the eight-day week disappeared. The cycle of seven days, named after the sun, the moon, and the five planets visible to the naked eye, was already customary in the time of Justin Martyr, who wrote of the Christians meeting on the Day of the Sun (Sunday). Emperor Constantine eventually established the seven-day week in the Roman calendar in AD 321. The Celts used periods of darkness such as night and winter to begin their calculations of time. This meant that the first period of time in a "week" was a night, followed by