Career
He was the father of orientalist Wilhelm Ahlwardt (1828–1909). After obtaining his habilitation from the University of Rostock, he worked as a schoolteacher in the town of Demmin (from 1792). In 1795 he was named academic rector in Anklam, followed by a rectorship at the Oldenburg gymnasium (from 1797).
In 1811 he was named rector of the gymnasium in Greifswald, and in 1817 he became a professor of ancient literature at the University of Greifswald, where he remained until his death.