Helmut Humbach

Helmut Humbach (* December 4, 1921 in Munich; † April 3, 2017 in Mainz) was a German linguist and Iranist. He was a professor of Indo-European philology at University of Mainz. He is recognized particularly for his work on the Gathas of Zarathustra.

Helmut Humbach
Born	(1921-04-12)12 April 1921 Munich, Germany
Died	3 April 2017(2017-04-03) (aged 95) Mainz, Germany
Nationality	German
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Munich
Thesis	(1951)
Academic advisors	Ferdinand Sommer Karl Hoffmann
Academic work
Discipline	Indo-European philology Iranian studies Zoroastrism
Institutions	Saarland University University of Mainz
Main interests	Gathas
Influenced	Jean Kellens Prods Oktor Skjærvø

Career

After completing his military service in World War II, Helmut Humbach studied Indo-European linguistics at University of Munich under Ferdinand Sommer. In 1951 he received his doctorate and habilitated on the recommendation of Karl Hoffmann in 1954 with a translation of the Gathas. In 1956 he became a full professor of comparative linguistics at Saarland University and from 1958 for Oriental Studies at the same university. From 1961 until his retirement, he was professor of Indo-European philology at University of Mainz. In 1972, he became a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. His assistants included Jean Kellens and Prods Oktor Skjærvø.

Research

Helmut Humbach's research focussed on pre-Islamic languages and the history of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. This includes, in particular, the Avestan language, Zoroastrianism as well as the Sassanid and Bactrian epigraphy. Helmut Humbach spent his life studying the Geographike Hyphegesis of Claudius Ptolemy, in particular volume 6, which covers the regions of Iran and Central Asia.

His main work was the translation of the Gathas. In was first published in German in 1959 as Die Gathas des Zarathustra. A substantially revised and expanded version of his translation was published in English in 1991 as The Gathas of Zarathustra and the Other Old Avestan Texts. In 1994, he also published a different English translation of the Gathas, which had a stronger focuss on readability. Shortly before his death, he published a monograph reviewing his own work.

Recognition

Humbach is mostly recognized for his translation of the Gathas, which have been described as the most faithful translations into a Western language. In addition, his work on the Gathas is seen as a turning point in their interpretation. Before Humbach, the Gathas were considered to be biographically infused, reflections on the theology system created by Zarathustra. Beginning with Humbach, however, the Gathas began to be increasingly seen as hymns directed to Ahura Mazda and intended to be performed at the sacrifice.

Honors

The impact of his work on the studies of Zoroastrianism was repeatedly recognized through a number of honors. In 1986, a Festschrift was published on the occasion of his 65th birthday. In 2001, a second Festschrift was published on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Finally, in 2017, a book was issued in honor of his 95th birthday.

Selected works

• Humbach, Helmut (1959). 'Die Gathas des Zarathustra: Bd. 1: Einleitung; Text; Übersetzung; Paraphrase. Indogermanische Bibliothek. Vol. 1. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.
• Humbach, Helmut (1959). 'Die Gathas des Zarathustra: Bd. 2: Kommentar. Indogermanische Bibliothek. Vol. 2. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.
• Die Kaniška-Inschrift von Surkh-Kotal: Ein Zeugnis des jüngeren Mithraismus aus Iran. Wiesbaden, 1960.
• Die awestische Länderliste. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens. Band 4. Wien 1960. S. 36–46.
• Ptolemaios-Studien. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens. Band 5. Wien 1961. S. 68–74.
• Kušān und Hephthaliten. München 1961.
• Baktrische Sprachdenkmäler. 2 Bände. Wiesbaden 1966/67.
• Vaeθā Nask: An Apocryphal Text on Zoroastrian Problems. Wiesbaden, 1969. (zusammen mit Kaikhusroo M. JamaspAsa)
• Die aramäische Inschrift von Taxila. Mainz und Wiesbaden 1969.
• Pursišnīhā: A Zoroastrian Catechism. 2 Bände. Wiesbaden 1971. (zusammen mit Kaikhusroo M. JamaspAsa).
• Historisch-geographische Noten zum sechsten Buch der Geographie des Ptolemaios (=Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz. Band 19). Mainz 1972, S. 89–98.
• Eine weitere aramäoiranische Inschrift der Periode des Aśoka aus Afghanistan. Mainz and Wiesbaden 1974. (zusammen mit Gholam Djelani Davary).
• Die baktrische Inschrift IDN 1 von Dasht-e Nāwūr (Afghanistan). Mainz and Wiesbaden 1976. (zusammen mit G. Djelani Davary).
• The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli. 3 Teile in 4 Bänden. Wiesbaden 1978–83. (zusammen mit Prods O. Skjærvø)
• Die sogdischen Inschriftenfunde vom oberen Indus (Pakistan). Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie. Band 2. Darmstadt 1980. S. 201–28.
• A Western Approach to Zarathushtra. Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute. Band 51. 1984. S. 1–56.
• Ērbedestān: An Avesta-Pahlavi Text. Edition und Übersetzung. München 1990. (zusammen mit Josef Elfenbein)
• Humbach, Helmut (1991). The Gathas of Zarathustra and the Other Old Avestan Texts. Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.
• The Heritage of Zarathushtra: A New Translation of His Gāthās. Heidelberg 1994. (zusammen mit Pallan Ichaporia).
• Zamyād Yasht: Yasht 19 of the Younger Avesta. Text, Übersetzung, Kommentar. Wiesbaden 1998. (zusammen mit Pallan R. Ichaporia).
• Ptolemy, Geography, Book 6: Middle East, Central and North Asia, China. 2 Bände. Wiesbaden 1998–2002 (zusammen mit Susanne Ziegler)
• Zarathushtra and His Antagonists: A Sociolinguistic Study with English and German Translations of His Gāthās. Wiesbaden 2010. (zusammen mit Klaus Faiss)
• Herodotus’s Scythians and Ptolemy’s Central Asia: Semasiological and Onomasiological Studies. Wiesbaden 2012. (zusammen mit Klaus Faiss)
• Avestica. Dettelbach 2016. (zusammen mit Klaus Faiss)

See also

• Karl Hoffmann
• Jean Kellens
• Prods Oktor Skjærvø

References

Bibliography

• Cantera, Alberto; Ferrer-Losilla, Juanjo, eds. (2017). Homenaje a Helmut Humbach en su 95º aniversario (PDF). Estudios Iranios y Turanios. Vol. 3. Girona: Sociedad de Estudios Iranios y Turanios.
• Gnoli, Gherardo (1992). "Reviewed Work: The Gāthās of Zarathushtra and the Other Old Avestan Texts, Indogermanische Bibliothek. Erste Reihe, Lehr- und Handbücher. 2 vols.: Part I, Introduction, Text and Translation, Part II: Commentary by Helmut Humbach, Josef Elfenbein, Prods O. Skjærvø". East and West. 42 (2–4). ISMEO (International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies): 519–527. JSTOR 29757056.
• Kürschner, Wilfried, ed. (1994). Linguisten-Handbuch: Biographische und bibliographische Daten deutschsprachiger Sprachwissenschaftlerinnen und Sprachwissenschaftler der Gegenwart. Vol. Band 1 A-L. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag Tübingen. ISBN 978-3823350019.
• Kellens, Jean (2015). "The Gāthās, Said to Be of Zarathustra". In Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan S.-D.; Tessmann, Anna (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 9781118785539.
• Kellens, Jean (1994). Le panthéon de l'avesta ancien. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. ISBN 978-3882262070.
• Royal Asiatic Society (1972). "Anniversary Meeting". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 (2). Cambridge University Press: 182–191. JSTOR 25203400.
• Schmidt, Hanns-Peter (1979). "Old and new perspectives in the study of the Gathas of Zarathustra". Indo-Iranian Journal. 21: 83–115. doi:10.1007/BF02350330.
• Schmidt, Maria Gabriela; Bisang, Walter, eds. (2001). Philologica et Linguistica: Historia, Pluralitas, Universitas. Festschrift für Helmut Humbach zum 80. Geburtstag am 4. Dezember 2001. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier. ISBN 978-3-88476-507-4.
• Schmitt, Rüdiger; Skjaervo, Prods O., eds. (1986). Studia Grammatica Iranica. Festschrift für Helmut Humbach. Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft. Vol. 13. München: Kitzinger Verlag. ISBN 978-3-92064-540-7.
• Schmitt, Rüdiger (2011). "HUMBACH, HELMUT". Encyclopædia Iranica. Iranica Foundation. doi:10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_362412.
• Stausberg, Michael (2002). Die Religion Zarathushtras: Geschichte - Gegenwart - Rituale. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). W. Kohlhammer GmbH. ISBN 978-3170171183.
• Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan S.-D.; Tessmann, Anna, eds. (2015). "Aims and Scope". The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 9781118785539.
• de Vaan, Michiel (2017). "Helmut Humbach and Klaus Faiss: Avestica". Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics. 4 (1). De Gruyter Mouton: 163–164. doi:10.1515/jsall-2017-0006.

External links

• "Helmut Humbach, Brill". Retrieved 2023-02-03.
• "Helmut Humbach: Schriftenverzeichnis der Universität Mainz" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-02-03.