Rückert was master of thirty languages and made his mark chiefly as a translator of Oriental poetry and as a writer of poems conceived in the spirit of Oriental masters. Much attention was attracted by a translation of the "Maqamat" of Al-Hariri of Basra ("Hariris Makamen") in 1826, "Nal und Damajanti", an Indian tale, in 1828, "Rostem und Suhrab, eine Heldengeschichte" ("Rostem and Suhrab, a Story of Heroes") in 1830, and "Hamasa, oder die ältesten arabischen Volkslieder" ("Hamasa, or the Oldest Arabian Folk Songs") in 1846.