Almut Hintze, FBA (born 7 June 1957) is an academic, philologist, linguist and scholar of Indo-Iranian studies and

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

. Since 2010, she has been Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Career

Born in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

on 7 June 1957, Almut Hintze completed her

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ed ...

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at the

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

in 1984. She then studied for a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

degree at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, which was awarded in 1986, before she completed her doctorate ( Dr phil.) in Indo-Iranian studies at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1990. The

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

awarded her

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

(Dr hab.) in 1997 for a study of the semantics of "reward" in

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

and

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

literature. She spent three years as the Heisenberg Junior Research Professor at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

until 2000, and simultaneously as a Research Fellow at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It was est ...

(where she remained for another year). In 2001, she joined the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS) as the Zartoshty Lecturer. She was promoted to senior lecturer in 2005, then three years later to a readership. In 2010, she was appointed Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism at SOAS."Hintze, Prof. Almut"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 1 July 2018."Almut Hintze"
''SOAS University of London''. Retrieved 1 July 2018. According to her British Academy profile, Hintze's research focuses on "the languages, religions and history of pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia with special attention to Zoroastrianism" and "Ancient and Middle Iranian philology and linguistics".

Honours and awards

In 2015, Hintze was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

, the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

for the humanities and social sciences."Professor Almut Hintze"
''British Academy''. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

Personal life

Hintze is married to Eugenio Biagini, a Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University. The couple have a son.

Selected publications

* * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hintze, Almut Living people 1957 births German philologists 21st-century linguists Women linguists Fellows of the British Academy Zoroastrian studies scholars Heidelberg University alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni 21st-century translators